'Why are we talking about Harry Truman?'

Peggy Noonan, who writes a "Declarations" blog / op-ed for the Wall Street Journal every Saturday, is always interesting and sometimes marvelous. This Saturday's essay (WSJ kindly posts them on Friday) is one of the marvelous ones: http://online.wsj.com/articles/politics-in-the-modest-age-1405639110

After explaining that Mr Truman left office dead broke -- actually dead broke, except for an Army pension of $112 a month; he took out a bank loan to get himself home to Missouri -- Noonan sweetly says:

"Why are we talking about Harry Truman? You know."

Yes! We know!

American presidents in the 21st Century aren't humble, decent people. If they aren't rich to begin with, they become rich in the act of being president, like any self-enriching "president" of any third-world kleptocracy.