Bill Bolling stands up for small business ... Obama to hold closed event in Richmond

Update: A more indepth version of this is available at the Washington Examiner.

Barack Obama will be visiting Richmond this afternoon touting recovery and jobs, stepping into Republican Congressional Whip Eric Cantor's territory. Perhaps the President feels threatened by the Republicans and feels it is urgent to visit Richmond? In that case, I hope Congressman Cantor and all the others keep chipping away at the President's poor choices for America.

Virginia's Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, meanwhile, laid the plain truth out for all to see yesterday with owners of small businesses who are being crunched by the federal government and Obama's new laws and regulations. A meeting between the Bolling and Obama would be interesting to see and perhaps Lt. Gov. Bolling could tell him in person what he has heard from small businesses:

Bolling's advice to Obama included abandoning portions of the health-care overhaul, including fines and penalties on business owners who do not provide health insurance for all employees.
...
He also suggested relaxing environmental and financial regulations to allow businesses to grow sooner rather than later.

"We have to get the federal regulators off the backs of the banks so they can loan the money they already have to the people who need it the most," he said. Finally, Bolling asked that Obama pledge to reduce federal spending by a minimum of 5 percent a year with a goal of trimming back to 2006 levels.

"We've done this in Virginia, and it can be done at the federal level as well," he said, adding: "Every business owner and every citizen knows that a $14 trillion national debt is simply unsustainable."

Today's Obama event is closed to the public so that makes me wonder if the president really wants to hear from everyday Americans? Or does he just want to make the front page of the newspapers?