Kevin Ferris writes in the Philly Inquirer:

"That is the true genius of America, a faith ... that we can say what we think, write what we think ... that we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution. ..."
- State Sen. Obama,  July 27, 2004

What has upset the administration is Donohue's outspokenness on some of its pet issues, especially health care and climate change. The chamber leader believes the White House is overreacting.

First, he points out, Americans have the right to petition their government, and he plans to do that on behalf of his members. Second, he and his members support some health-care and environmental legislation. But they are against job-killing, regulation-heavy efforts that could weaken already struggling businesses. Third, the White House has a short memory. It had the chamber's support on Cash for Clunkers, the auto bailouts, the stimulus, and even the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Donohue points out that some of his members were not happy with those stands, but on TARP and the stimulus package, he says, "The nation was at risk. What was the message we wanted to send to the world?"

Donohue thinks Americans are ready for positive messages about improving the economy, such as his Campaign for Free Enterprise.

"We have to remind people what worked and think about it as we look to new approaches coming out of the recession," he says. "And we want to put pressure on the business community to do what we desperately need to do: create 20 million new jobs in the next 10 years." What worked includes open capital markets, free trade, reasonable taxation and regulation, and "the right to fail," Donohue says. "Many business people failed the first time and then came back and succeeded."

Learn more about the Campaign.