Business Need Not Fear Obama--Anymore

With uncharacteristic prescience, I wrote in Broadcasting & Cable Magazine in December 2008 that the big business community had nothing to fear from an Obama presidency. While it has taken almost two years, and a few public chastenings, it seems that Obama is doing what it takes to reassure the corporate sector that he is a friend, not a foe.

As he crosses the Lafayette Park Rubicon to speak with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there may be no turning back. After breaking bread with Tom Donahue and the corporate titans he represents, Obama has cast his future lot with business over labor. While this may be a masterfully necessary move for the adroitly pragmatic Obama, it may not be sufficient for the Chamber to abnegate the hundreds of millions it will pump into Congressional races next year.

These political considerations aside, here is why business need not fear Obama, anymore.

Acumen over Antagonism, Results over Retribution

For all of the campaign bluster blaming big business for American economic woes, Obama is not and never has been an anti-corporate crusader. He is much more interested in results than retribution. Obama’s key economic appointments suggest his administration will pursue acumen over antagonism when it comes to the business sector. The designation of Daley as chief of staff says it all.

Deal-Making over Dogma

If Obama has proven anything, it is that he is an uber pragmatist who prefers practical solutions over dogmatic ties to political philosophy. While business may have taken solace in the mainstream Republican ideology, it will be surprised at how non-ideological Obama may prove to be. After all, he has shown a willingness to borrow from the best of conservative, liberal, progressive and libertarian thinking in the development of his own unique world view. His commitment to success will compel him to think and act far outside the constraints of predictable political dogma. His call to review anti-business regulations is the height of mid-stream correction.

Balancing Commerce and the Constitution

More than any other president before, save Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, Barack Obama is acutely aware of both the expanse and the limitations of government power. His facility with constitutional law may be unparalleled in American presidential history. As a constitutional scholar, Obama knows, or should know, the balance that must be struck between permissible government regulation of business, trade and commerce on the one hand, and the light touch of regulation on the other that fuels innovation and investment in the marketplace. Above all, he should appreciate the wide swath that the commerce clause of the constitution cuts through our lives and should direct his cabinet and his erstwhile Congressional cohorts to err on the side of less—not more—government regulation.

In the area of commercial marketing and advertising, for example, a string of successive Supreme Court decisions have struck down burdensome restrictions on commercial speech as impermissible under First Amendment jurisprudence. The president-elect should recognize that heavier regulation in that sector, alone, will mean less revenue for many, many industries.

It will be important for the President to send clear, unambiguous signals to his fellow Democrats in Congress that he expects them to treat business with prudence and pragmatism, and cooperate with the House Republican leadership. He must develop a better working relationship with Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and stalwart committee members Joe Barton (R-TX) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL), if any reasonable headway is to be made.

Of course, as with any other administration, the business community will have its differences and spates with Obama. The healthcare law overhaul is a mixed blessing for business, but the principle remains anathema to the GOP. Reducing regulation remains the Republican mantra, especially following remembrances of Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday

Whatever the issues that will bring business and Obama face-to-face, I would bet that the president's goal every time will be to carve out a win-win scenario so the public good does not obstruct the gains of the private sector. Last but not least, all indications are that Barack will challenge big business—as he has challenged us all—to become its best; to live up to higher standards and ideals, and to contribute to society and humanity in a way that it has never done before. Such an outcome surely would profit our nation and the dividend would go directly to the bottom line.

(c) Adonis Hoffman 2011