The question is - how many people can he fool? Clinton did a masterful job of, for instance, making it appear that welfare reform was his idea. And given the fact that the president - any president - has the ability to control the national agenda, it would seem that Obama's conversion as born again free marketer as evidenced by his op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, might pull the wool over many voter's eyes:
In an article published in the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Obama said he intends to issue an executive order initiating a review to "make sure we avoid excessive, inconsistent and redundant regulation," focusing on rules that "stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive." He also suggested future regulations must do their job "while promoting economic growth."The move is the latest effort by the White House to repair relations with corporate America, hoping to spur investment by the nation's largest multinationals and reduce unemployment.
Business leaders say an explosion in new regulations stemming from the president's health-care and financial regulatory overhauls has, along with the sluggish economy, made them reluctant to spend on expanding and hiring. Companies are sitting on nearly $2 trillion in cash and liquid assets, the most since World War II.
In recent weeks, the administration has made new efforts to push stalled free-trade agreements with Korea and others through Congress, and signaled its eagerness to consider an overhaul of the U.S. corporate tax code. The president invited chief executives to the White House last month, where they formed task forces to work on specific issues, including export growth and taxes.
Next week, Obama will visit the evil empire - the Chamber of Commerce. So the question is how much will American business be taken in by this new found concern about their livelihoods?
Obama needs them more than they need Obama. Without some job growth over the next two years, Obama can kiss re-election goodbye. Making nice with corporate America will cause liberals heads to explode, but Obama doesn't have to convince them of anything. They will scream bloody murder but vote for him in the end.
I doubt anything of substance will come of this review. For instance, he won't scrap FinReg or Obamacare - two job killing measures right there. As with everything else about Obama, it will be smoke and mirrors that he will try and sell as policy to voters in 2012.
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