For Steve Jobs, meeting with Obama comes as Apple faces increased scrutiny from Washington

It seemed only natural for President Barack Obama to meet with Apple chief executive Steve Jobs during his Silicon Valley visit. After all, President Obama has held dozens of similar meetings with corporate chieftains over the past two years and Jobs runs the nation's most-valuable tech company. For the notoriously private Jobs, however, the nearly hour-long get-together marked a significant departure.

Unlike his main rivals in Silicon Valley, including Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, Jobs has expressed little interest in the affairs of Washington -- except when government regulations mess with his business, particularly patents, trade, and taxes. The sit-down highlights a growing tension for Apple, a once-forgotten relic that has transformed the music, publishing, mobile phone and television industries over the past ten years with must-have mobile devices. Apple's expanding influence in the marketplace and its soaring market value, which hit $280 billion as of Friday, have brought it closer scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers. So far, Apple still only has a small, low-key lobbying staff in Washington. Analysts say that the company risks following in the footsteps of other high-tech firms that ignored political pressure until they were hit with antitrust investigations and regulatory complaints.