Kilpatrick wore asurprised, puzzled look at times as U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds read the jury's verdict: guilty of 24 charges, not guilty on three and no consensus on three more.
So when the Union's leaders assemble yet again, in December in Helsinki to mark the end of the Finnish presidency, do not be surprised if their smiles look just a little strained.
And my fear is that if Washington miscalculates in its game of debt limit chicken later this summer, the markets will be very surprised indeed, and the results could make the post-Lehman Brothers financial collapse look like a sunny day on the beach.