Harry S. Truman

Being that I am from the Show-me State, I especially enjoyed this email today from a friend in Colorado. If anyone knows its source, will you please let me know?

"When President Harry Truman retired from office in 1952, his income was substantially a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.

"When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, 'You don't want me. You want the office of the president. That doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale.'

"Later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, 'I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.'

"We now see that the Clintons have found a new level of success in cashing in on the presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale.

"Was good old Harry Truman correct when he observed: 'My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference. I, for one, believe the piano player job to be much more honorable than current politicians.'"