Every month, President Clinton hosts a private lunch with a dozen different corporate leaders to solicit their views on the economy and promote himself as "salesman in chief" for American businesses and workers. The president tells aides he likes to "stay connected." But after 13 sessions with the likes of Laurence Tisch, chief executive officer of CBS, John Reed of Citicorp and Joe Gorman of TRW -- and a governmentwide outreach to other business leaders -- the administration's relations with the corporate world are not uniformly strong. "There is still a lot of suspicion out there," says a Clinton adviser.
Not a bad start. Following a relatively pleasant honeymoon - - especially for a Democrat -- Clinton's relations with corporate America have worsened. During his first year as president, many business leaders were impressed when he cut the deficit, won passage for the North American Free Trade Agreement, moved to relax controls on the export of high-technology equipment and took a more aggressive line on trade, especially with Japan. Particular industries like autos, computers, telecommunications and natural gas producers felt they had allies in high places. And many business leaders were pleased the administration did not impose a large number of costly new environmental regulations, which many executives had feared.
But one issue has turned many business people against the president: "It's health care that has soured the relationship," says a senior administration official. And the price he has paid is steep. Many major business groups have officially opposed Bill and Hillary Clinton's health care plan, claiming it would impose burdensome costs on companies and force layoffs. Most denounce the proposed requirement that employers pay for health insurance for their workers, and many prefer the less ambitious proposal of Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee that would impose no new employer costs.
"After he was elected, people said, `Give the guy a chance, let's see if President Clinton is a pro-business conservative,'" says Richard Lesher, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a conservative business lobbying group. "I would say that latitude has been totally wiped out." In addition to what he considers the intrusive and costly requirements in the Clinton health care plan, Lesher complains about the "class-warfare rhetoric" coming from the administration -- especially attacks on insurance companies. "Our people say, `Next, it could be us,'" says Lesher. He adds that nearly 51 percent of chamber members think Clinton's policies have had a negative effect on the business climate, according to a recent survey, while only 8 percent say his policies have improved matters. The remainder see little or no difference.
Yet White House officials say Clinton wants the outreach to continue. "What we have now is a dog-sniffing exercise," says a Clinton adviser. "They are still suspicious of us and dominated by old habits and ideology. We're not sure what to make of them. It will take some time to correct the problems."
