Elizabeth Warren At CFPB Is A No Brainer

Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner was on "This Week" this morning and he was asked about Elizabeth Warren heading the Consumer Financial Protecton Bureau

Host Jake Tapper asked Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner if he supported Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

"She is a enormously effective advocate for reform," Geithner replied. "Probably the most effective advocate for reform for consumers for consumer protection in the country."

"She has huge credibility and she played a decisive role in helping make the public case for reform and she was early on this, way ahead of everybody else," Geithner told Tapper.

But does the Treasury Secretary have concerns about a woman who has been so sharply critical of him in her role as independent supervisor of the $700 billion bank bailout?

"I don't have concerns and I should say in that context that she has been playing a very important role in providing oversight over the programs we put in place to break the back of this financial crisis

Geitner stopped short of actually saying he endorsed her to the post but this should be a no brainer for the Obama administration. If they want to fire up the base before the mid term elections AND nominate the person most folks see as the most up to the job of protecting consumers they will nominate Warren immediately. And not only will they nominate her, they will fiercely promote her for confirmation.

I talked the other day about the need for Harry Reid to be willing to pick a fight he may not win and this time it applies to administration as well. If Warren is opposed and her nomination doesn't go through but the administration and Harry Reid and the overwhelming majority of Democrats are seen as pushing for confirmation then that will be a damn sight better than not nominating her at all because they are scared she won't be confirmed.

This is one battle out of many that can define for voters who they are voting for in the fall. Do they want folks who are really pushing to protect them from businesses that try to screw them? Or do they want the folks who want to make sure big business has every chance to screw them?

If they have any sense in the White House they will announce Elizabeth Warren's nomination to the post ASAP!