I am Not a Crook

"This is the United States of America, we're not some banana republic. This is not a deadbeat nation. We don't run out on our tab. We're the world's bedrock investment, the entire world looks to us to make sure the world economy is stable. We can't just not pay our bills." Barack Obama.

I remember listening to a history professor, who said Nixon's words are so famous because they startled the American nation. Very few people really thought he was a crook, but to hear him deny it? The juxtaposition of the lofty presidency with criminal activity by the president himself made it plausible . . . and eventually, undeniable.

Will the same thing occur here? "We're not some Banana Republic."

Indeed. We are THE Banana Republic.