On Monday, the two sides met at the chamber's headquarters not far from the White House. The chamber represents 3 million companies and is considered to be the most powerful business lobby in Washington.
Readers may recall that just four months ago, the chamber and Obama butted heads on foreign money in elections, and the organization was a vocal opponent of financial services regulations and health-care reform - arguably the two most important legislative projects on Obama's agenda.
The presidential meeting with the chamber's members jarred some folk, given the tens of millions of dollars the group spent not only to fight Obama's health-care overhaul, but also to help deliver the House majority to the Republicans.
In mid-2010, the chamber was spending nearly $3 million a week in opposition to things such as student-loan legislation, credit-card reforms and a landmark measure that expands workers' rights to sue for equal pay.
The chamber lost on most of these battles, but the president was also hurt by the rift. Obama was slapped with an "anti-business" label that damaged his image with an American public that is still anxiously concerned about the US economy.
This may help explain why Obama moved to open a door that was previously closed.
Now both sides appear eager to show a new era of warm feelings and improved working relations. The chamber needs bipartisan support and Obama must re-establish his credibility with centrist voters and corporate donors as he ramps up his re-election campaign.
In his speech at the chamber, the president focused on the "mutual responsibilities" of government and business. He spoke about the government's "obligation to make sure that America is the best place on Earth to do business."
Obama told company executives that they have an "obligation" to "hire our workers, and pay decent wages, and invest in the future of this nation." He also encouraged company heads to invest in clean energy.
But Obama's allies in the labor movement and other liberals fear that the president may abandon them in his pursuit of the political center.
Some consumer advocates charged that even a suggestion that regulations might hurt businesses ceded a key rhetorical point as the GOP, working with the chamber, begins its push to roll back new curbs on carbon emissions imposed last month by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Groups on the Left criticized Obama just for speaking to the chamber on Monday, and one progressive group insisted he must challenge business leaders to support his agenda for investing in infrastructure and innovation.
Business lobbyists also are watching the White House-chamber courtship with a degree of skepticism.
Obama, for example, wants to reduce corporate tax rates while eliminating many deductions. Corporations want lower tax rates but not fewer deductions.
Chamber officials, meanwhile, say that they still expect their campaign spending next year to exceed the group's $50 million budget of 2010. They say their organization does not get involved in presidential politics.
If spending follows the 2010 model, however, it will go almost entirely toward helping the GOP extend its House margin and possibly win control of the Senate.
That effort could have the additional effect of mobilizing Republican voters in presidential battlegrounds such as Florida and Virginia, which are expected to have competitive Senate races.
