President Barack Obama is rolling the dice early into his presidency with a "stimulus" package that is burdened by the typical "throw everything but the kitchen sink into it" mentality that is the hallmark of the leadership in the U.S. House and Senate.

If Obama's proposal were truly an infrastructure program that could hit the ground running, it would be receiving the bipartisan support that he is seeking. But with friends like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, the new president doesn't need enemies.

They loaded up the bill with money for every possible constituency -- teachers unions, environmental activists, and all sorts of groups whose members receiving cash infusions might not result in the creation of many, if any, new jobs.

So, clearly, the stimulus package will not receive much, if any, Republican support. It may, if it turns out to be the boondoggle it seems, turn out to be a future political disaster for moderate Democratic members of Congress.

But there is a proposed piece of legislation that everyone can support and which should be passed as quickly as possible. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., have proposed legislation to create a "Financial Markets Commission" charged to investigate every aspect of how our nation's financial institutions ended up losing tens of trillions of dollars. This is legislation that should become law immediately with the commission appointed and put to work in no time flat. Continued...