Oh, non-perceptive one, I seek to enlighten you. While the payment for bribery normally is thought of as occurring _before_ (or during) the payback desired, as a practical matter it isn't very practical to bribe an American president while he is in office. But since the office of President will continue to exist, and the people who are inclined to get favors will continue to exist, and they all know this (see 'game theory'), a logical solution is to delay the bribe payment until the office-holder is out of office. Obviously, while a president may wonder what would motivate a briber to actually pay the bribe after he leaves office, the reality is (remember reality?) is that word of welshing will surely get back to the subsequent office-holder(s), poisoning the well for the almost-but-not-quite-briber in the future. No doubt, for example, America's First Muslim President will pick up tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars doing the rubber-chicken circuit in the (Muslim) Middle-east. Do you wonder why Obama hasn't 'jawboned' the Arab oil producers to drop oil prices to, say, $60 per barrel? Do you wonder why he hasn't made more threats to open up the spigots of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? Or why he hasn't approved the construction of the Keystone oil pipeline? That's right: Obama is carrying-water for the very people he expects to be bribed by about 3.5 years hence.
Jim Bell