8 Shocking, Funny and Revealing Things Obama Told the Chamber of Commerce

I'm here in the interest of being more neighborly. Maybe we would have gotten off on a better foot if I had brought over a fruitcake when we first moved in.

I understand the significance of your obligations to your shareholders. I get it. But as we work with you to make America a better place to do business, ask yourselves what you can do for America.

I want to put more people to work rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges.

To make room for these investments in education, innovation, and infrastructure, government also has a responsibility to cut the spending that we just can't afford. That's why I've promised to veto any bill larded up with earmarks

We're trying to run the government more like you run your businesses - with better technology and faster services. In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America.

The perils of too much regulation are matched by the dangers of too little

If we're fighting to reform the tax code and increase exports to help you compete, the benefits can't just translate into greater profits and bonuses for those at the top. They should be shared by American workers.

We can create a virtuous cycle.