Ex-"Presidents" Tell Obama to Pass Consumer Protections

by Josie Raymond · 2010-03-07 13:47:00 UTC
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The proposed government watchdog the Consumer Financial Protection Agency is such a good idea that even long-dead Republican presidents support it.

Did you catch Funny or Die's presidential reunion skit last week? In the video, which you can watch below, the actors who impersonated every president since Ford on Saturday Night Live come together to convince Barack Obama, err, comedian Fred Armisen, to get a Consumer Financial Protection Agency in place.

They've got a point. An umbrella agency would be able to regulate the mortgage, credit card and other financial markets that affect nearly every American consumer but are not required to follow the rules of other industries. The CFPA would protect Americans from bad financial products -- the sort of subprime mortgages and sky-high interest rates that triggered the recession. Obama introduced the formation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency last summer but recently backed away under pressure from Republicans and banking industry lobbyists. Now is the time to charge, not to retreat.

Armisen gets advice from Will Ferrell as George W. Bush, Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton, Dana Carvey as George H.W. Bush, Jim Carrey as Ronald Reagan, Dan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter and Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford. (Proving that common-sense regulation is an idea everyone can get on board with, some of the actors are Republicans.) The past presidents are telling Obama that he has to reign in banks and credit card companies that are ripping off consumers, largely because each of them passed the buck when they were in the Oval Office. "As George Washington once said to John Adams," "Reagan" tells "Obama," "Tag -- you're it!"

Josie Raymond has reported from the streets of the South Bronx, written for several magazines that folded (not her fault) and fixed thousands of typos.
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