By JACK FARIS

No coach in his right mind would tell his team, “Go out there and do your half-best. We might win, but then again, we might not.”

Imagine a game where some of your teammates not only refuse to play, but second-guess the coach and shout down the cheerleaders.

Yet even before President Bush on Tuesday convened a forum of the nation’s foremost business leaders, entrepreneurs and economic and policy experts, his detractors were pooh-poohing the very idea of the nation’s chief executive taking the time to listen to the people.

The naysayers were quick to criticize everything from the White House’s budget policies to the president’s audacity at picking his home state, of all places, to hold this meeting.

“Politics ain’t bean bag” as writer Finley Peter Dunne noted, but when the nation’s economic health and well-being is at risk, one would hope that politics could be set aside and everyone function as a team.

Invited to Waco to discuss ways to reduce barriers to growth and the burden of red tape for small businesses, I heard many business owners describe their challenges, express their frustrations and even share their failures. But none, not one, threw up their hands and surrendered.

What’s more, many of those Main Street entrepreneurs came away with a glimmer of optimism that they didn’t have before. They felt better about their future prospects. Why? Because their coach, the president of the United States, listened and offered encouragement.

“We have heard from Americans who are concerned, but not discouraged,” he said. “We see problems, but we’re confident in the long-term health of this economy.”

Small-business owners are accustomed to grappling with theday-to-day problems that surround their enterprises. They are optimists who can see good times ahead even while things are at their worst, but are invigorated and inspired to greatness by the obstacles that they face.

But they, like any team, are discouraged by naysaying and petty politics. They’re human, after all.

So when the nation’s coach listened to the team he had assembled from all walks of life this week, he clearly heard their concerns and gave them reason for hope.

What the president said was: “I think one of the things you’ll hear is that even though times are kind of tough right now, that we’re America. I’m incredibly optimistic about the future of this country, because I understand the strength of the country. And the strength of the country is our people.

We’ve got the highest productivity in the world, we’ve got the best farmers and ranchers in the world. We’ve got the best manufacturers in the world. We’ve got the hardest working people in the world.”

What small-business owners heard was: “Go out there, give your best and we can win this game together.”

Small business is ready to take the field, but winning the economic turn-around will be a lot easier if the naysayers suit up and join the team.

JACK FARIS is president of the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s largest small-business advocacy group.