Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images

President Obama speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

President Obama is trying to make nice with big business. This morning, the president gave a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to woo business leaders and encourage them to expand hiring.

He pumped up the charm factor saying, “I’m here in the interest of being more neighborly. I strolled over from across the street, and look, maybe if we had brought over a fruitcake when I first moved in, we would have gotten off to a better start. But I’m going to make up for it.”

Despite some strong disagreements (and lack of fruitcake), Obama said, "we can and must work together." Obama said he would advance trade deals with Panama and Colombia to help U.S. companies. He also promised to cut “burdensome” corporate taxes and some regulations to give business space to grow – a much softer stance on these issues than during the height of the financial crisis.

Many businesses resent Obama for trash talking executive pay and overhauling regulations on Wall Street.

Obama picked Bill Daley, formerly of JPMorgan Chase, to be his chief of staff and recently brought on GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt as his new top outside economic adviser.