it isn't the legalities...it's the betrayal that's pissing people off

[quakerboy]

47. It seems believable enough to me

I don't know that anything so simplistic has happened. It may be as simple as a preformed agenda with a decent actor tricking us all. Or as simple as a well meaning man who has fallen prey to money, misinformation, or the enticements of power.

But I can see a candidate saying "I can take this chance, I will not be corrupted no matter what they try to do to me" and then folding under the pressure of "Have you really thought this through Mr President? You know, on a totaly unrelated note, your daughters are wonderful kids. Did you know that in some cultures people throw acid on women who they feel are dishonored?"

Its a lot easier to take a hypothetical "no matter what it costs" stand than to stand up for the right in a real life situation. I think most of us have failed at this in our own personal lives in some much smaller way, under a lot less pressure than a president is likely to face.