Regulatory Reform: Yes We Can?

President Barack Obama is planning to state the obvious tonight, according to the Associated Press, calling for "strong financial sector regulation and oversight to restore accountability and trust in financial markets."

Obama, in a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and lawmakers today, reportedly cited specific principles he wanted the legislation to achieve, including accountability for executives, consumer protections, and a regulatory plan that covers "a broad series of financial transactions that have escaped regulation in the past."

It may be a brave, new world out there, but this isn't a new idea.

It's not even a new idea for our new president -- he said the same thing just after he stepped into office.

Two senior senators proposed a plan in January to regulate hedge funds. The IRS was recently called out for not knowing how much money is being lost via offshore tax havens. And last June, the Treasury Department proposed its "blueprint" for restructured regulation, a plan that would have seen a streamlining of the agencies that police Wall Street.

That was, of course, just before the financial shocks of the summer and fall.

So yes, we need more regulation. How else can we stop the R. Allen Stanfords and Bernard Madoffs of the world? How can the nation, and its markets, recover from the loss of confidence this crisis has borne?

The real question: Will it happen?

Obama's meeting today is to lay out broad principles for a regulatory reform bill to be crafted in the run up to next month's Group of 20 summit in London.