Symington didn't wait for an answer.

"Yes," he said, "we were allowed to take out one loan. We did that, and I think we've already paid it off. Well, it's nice to see you."

With that, Symington and his caravan moved on.

Standing in the wake of the crowd, I thought of that old Arabian proverb: "The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on."

How much longer will this one march forward? The parallels with Evan Mecham and Charles Keating are uncannily similar.

At one time, they, too, seemed untouchable.