A very interesting little photo vignette picked up at Barack and Michelle: The Love Story. George W. holds the umbrella for Laura while Michelle holds her own. Which reminded me of this from Schopenhauer:

A man shows his character in just the way he deals with trifles – for then he is off his guard. This will often afford a good opportunity of observing the boundless egoism of a man’s nature, and his total lack of consideration of others: and if these defects show themselves in small things, or merely in his general demeanour, you will find that they also underlie his actions in matters of importance, although he may disguise the fact. This is the opportunity which should not be missed. If in the little affairs of every day – the trifles of life, those matters to which de minimis non applies – a man is inconsiderate and seeks only what is advantageous or convenient to himself, to the prejudice of other’s rights; if he appropriates to himself that which belongs to all alike, you may be sure there is no justice in his heart, and that he would be a scoundrel on a wholesale scale, only that the law and compulsion bind his hands. Do not trust him beyond the door. He is not afraid to break the laws of his own private circle, will break those of the State when he can do so with impunity.

From Arthur Schopenhauer. “Our Relations to Others.” In The Seven Great Essays of Schopenhauer. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1951, 64-65.