THE INFLUENCE GAME: Chamber at odds with Obama

EDITOR'S NOTE _ An occasional look at how behind-the-scenes influence is wielded in Washington.

%byline(By JIM KUHNHENN%)

%bytitle(Associated Press Writer%)

%endtag(%)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ If President Barack Obama wants to take the measure of his opposition, he only has to glance across Lafayette Park from the White House. There, behind 10 massive Corinthian columns, is the headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce _ a leading critic of the administration's health care and banking overhaul plans.

A fortress for the business community, the chamber has emerged as a multitasking, multimillion-dollar defender of the private sector …