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The nations governors assemble in the White House today to hear a policy speech from President Obama. It will be serious and potentially boring stuff, and as the statehouse chiefs sit in the impressive surroundings, perhaps the discussion of Department of Homeland Security funding will fade away and theyll begin day-dreaming. What if it were them up there at the podium as president? Why not arent statehouses the training ground for the nations chief executives?

Obama himself mentioned this in brief remarks at a dinner on Sunday.

Its wonderful to see you all here tonight, he said to the assembled members of the National Governors Association. Harry Truman once called the presidency an enlarged governorship. Of course, a few of you are hoping that he was right.

He got some laughs with that. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin was in the room hes a likely 2016 Republican candidate. On Sunday he even posted a selfie with his son Alex that was taken in a White House corridor. Perhaps Hail to the Chief was playing in his head at that moment.

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey was there, too. Hes a Walker rival and recently completed a term as head of the Republican Governors Association. Hes traveled the nation raising money for his fellow GOP state leaders. He probably looked at Governor Walker and grumbled to himself that somebody needs to wait their turn.

As for Democrats, Martin OMalley wasnt there, because his tenure as governor of Maryland recently expired. But he seems to be preparing to run against Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries, which will perhaps be a thankless task. Other former governors who are all but certain to run include Jeb Bush, who ran Florida a while back, and Mike Huckabee, ditto in Arkansas.

So its certainly possible that an ex-governor will indeed occupy the White House in 2016. And if thats the case, it will bolster the occupations record. It is indeed the most common of pre-presidential careers, barely.

Seventeen people who served at one point as a governor have become president, according to the Rutgers Center on the American Governor. Thats 39 percent of the total number of presidents. (Which is 44, if you didnt know.)

Thomas Jefferson was the first. He was governor of Virginia. Besides Jefferson, Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler served as Virginia governors.

But the Old Dominion, despite its many Founding Fathers, is not the state with the most governors. Thats New York, which had four: Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Roosevelt.

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Obama meets governors. Is his successor in the crowd? (+video)

President Barack Obama warned governors on Monday that a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security would have a "direct impact" on their states.

"They all work in your states," Obama said of the 200,000 Homeland Security employees who would not receive paychecks if Congress fails to reach a deal to fund the department before Saturday.

"These are folks that, if they don't have a paycheck, are not going to be able to spend that money in your states. It will have a direct impact on your economy and it will have a direct impact on America's national security because their hard work helps to keep us safe," he told the National Governors Association at its winter meeting.

Republicans in Congress have voted to fund Homeland Security with legislation that guts the president's executive actions that could allow millions of undocumented immigrants to stay in the country legally. Democrats in the Senate refuse to advance the bill, and a stalemate remains with just days to go before DHS runs out of funding.

Republican governors, including those who are eyeing presidential runs, have blamed Obama for the budget standoff taking place as ISIS expands its hold beyond the Middle East.

The president said governors know "we can't afford to play politics with our national security," while also giving a nod to Republicans like Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, who are mulling White House bids.

"I'm in the fourth quarter of my presidency, or as some of you might call it -- the kickoff of your campaign season," Obama joked.

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson held a press conference Monday warning of the impacts of the a lapse in funding.

"Every governor, mayor, police chief, sheriff and police commissioner should be concerned about this," Johnson warned.

-- Andrew Rafferty

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Obama: Homeland Security Shutdown Will Hurt States

President Obama wants to change the way brokers and investment advisers offer financial advice, saying the current system leads to high fees that erode returns on investments.

At present, brokers work under the suitability standard. This, in essence, means that while making a recommendation, brokers must reasonably believe that a product is "suitable" for a client. The Obama administration wants to change that. It wants to impose what is known as a fiduciary duty on brokers. That means the brokers would have to put their clients' interests over their own.

This, the administration says, would prevent financial advisers from steering clients to investments with high costs, hidden fees and low returns.

"Too many financial advisers have sales incentives to steer responsible Americans into bad retirement investments with high fees and lower returns that leave their clients with less in retirement," Jeff Zients, director of the White House National Economic Council, said in a conference call.

Obama is expected to announce later today that he will task the Labor Department with coming up with the new rules. The department explains the problem this way:

The White House estimates that conflicted advice costs working- and middle-class families a total of $17 billion in losses each year.

Today's announcement initiates a months-long process before the rules are finalized. As NPR's Chris Arnold reported, critics say the plan would make it harder and more expensive for average Americans to get good advice.

"This re-proposal could make it harder to save for retirement by cutting access to affordable advice and limiting options for savers," Kenneth Bentsen Jr., president and chief executive of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, said in a statement.

A 2010 Labor Department proposal on fiduciary rules was withdrawn after strong opposition from Wall Street. The department says its new proposal "will not ban common compensation practices, such as commissions and revenue sharing, and it will continue to allow financial advisers to provide general education on retirement saving."

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Obama Wants Rules That Force Brokers To Put Clients' Interests First

Take two. President Barack Obama today called on the Department of Labor to move forward with a proposed rulemaking to require retirement advisers to put their clients best interest before their own profits. Its a rewrite of the dropped 2010 rewrite of the 40-year-old fiduciary rule. (The 2010 rewrite was withdrawn in 2011 amidst industry furor.)

Were going to get this right, said DOL secretary Tom Perez, bemoaning backdoor payments and hidden fees that cost Americans up to $17 billion a year in lost retirement savings, according to The Effects of Conflicted Investment Advice on Retirement Savings.

If youre working hard and saving money, sacrificing that new car or vacation so you can build a nest egg for later, you should have the peace of mind that the advice youre getting is sound, President Obama said, at the Save Our Retirement Coalition event at AARPs offices in Washington. Coalition members include the AARP, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Americans for Financial Reform, Better Markets, Consumer Federation of America and Pension Rights Center.

Provided by Forbes Is your financial advisor a salesman or does he have your best interest in mind? (Credit: jeremkin/Getty Images)

Of course, some financial advisors are honestPresident Obama called out Sheryl Garrett, founder of a network of fee-only financial planners; but some are selling snake oil, he said. He cited an example of an elderly couple in Illinois who had been sold expensive annuities making it hard to access their money and now the family is struggling to pay for needed nursing care.

The proposed rule is still under wrapsthe DOL sent it to the OMB for review today. But a White House fact sheet gives some hints as to what is coming. The proposed rule will expand the types of retirement advice subject to the higher fiduciary standard (as opposed to a suitability standard). It will allow advisers to continue to provide general education on retirement saving across workplace retirement plans and IRAs without triggering fiduciary duties. And all common forms of compensation, such as commissions and revenue sharing, would still be permitted, whether paid by the client or the investment firm.

The rule is also likely to address aggressive marketing of IRA rollovers, predicts AARP Director of Financial Security and Consumer Affairs Cristina Martin Firvida. Today most of Americas retirement savings are in IRAsnot ERISA-protected pensions or 401(k)-type plans. Theres $7.2 billion in IRAS, $5.3 trillion in defined contribution plans like 401(k)s, and $3.1 trillion in defined benefit pension plans, according to the DOL.

The Investment Company Institute, the financial services industry lobby, quickly fired off this response to the announcement: It is vital that any proposed rules be carefully tailoredand regulators must reply upon data and factsnot overheated rhetoric. What can you do in the meantime? Find an advisor who is legally obligated to put your interests first.

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Obama attacks retirement advisers selling snake oil

Shrek and Obama (love story)
Shrek falls deeply in love with obama. How will they protect their love? Find out now!!!

By: Zac Webster

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Shrek and Obama (love story) - Video