I'm not a lawyer, nor do I work for the New York Times, but I'm pretty sure corruption does not require an explicit quid pro quo.

Lost in this week's noise is the fact that the other day, the President of the United States was handed a softball question about the Declaration of Independence, and his "answer" made clear that he has no idea what it says or what it was about, even though there's a copy on the wall in his office.

When his capital was attacked, he grabbed a rifle and a helmet. When our capital was attacked, our leader grabbed a Diet Coke and a t.v. remote. Anything else need to be said?