One of Trump’s tropes during the election was about “cleaning up” Washington. He was, he claimed, the only one who could “drain the swamp” of the corrupt lobbyists, Wall Street bankers and Clinton cronies who ruled inside the Beltway. Now, pondering the fact that alumni of Goldman Sachs seem to be playing a dominant role in his nascent administration (Bannon, Mnunchin and Cohn for starters), one I reminded of a piece of old folk wisdom about these matters: “when people talk about draining the swamp, the alligators lick their lips”.

Surprise, surprise!