Nothing in the political world says “kick me” more loudly than an elected official’s huge house. Or houses.

People walk in the grounds of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s countryside residence in Mezhyhirya, Kiev region, Ukraine, in 2014. Nothing in the political world says “kick me” more loudly than an elected official’s huge house. American presi… — People walk in the grounds of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s countryside residence in Mezhyhirya, Kiev region, Ukraine, in 2014. Nothing in the political world says “kick me” more loudly than an elected official’s huge house. American presidential candidates would do well to heed any warnings that they live lives of excess as this country hurtles toward 2016. Efrem Lukatsky Associated Press file.

Most people consider their own homes to be their figurative castles. But when political leaders’ “castles” are literally palaces, a country’s citizenry often seethes, preparing for that moment when it can finally storm the palace walls. From Russia to Turkey, immodest presidential living with Versailles-level luxury has become au courant and de rigueur. (Read more)