Here Comes the Sun King

Plan on seeing King Louis XIV's name a few times in this guide. Why? Did King Louis XIV get in Doc Brown's DeLorean to get the sports almanac back from Biff, who hid it in the Watergate Hotel?

Unfortunately, no.

The president's lawyer James St. Clair, actually told the Court that "The president wants me to argue that he is as powerful a monarch as Louis XIV, only four years at a time, and is not subject to the processes of any court in the land except the court of impeachment."

There's only one word for a statement like that: chutzpah.

Louis XIV, known as Louis the Great or The Sun King, wasn't just any other monarch. Reigning from 1643 to 1715, he raised the power of absolute monarchy to new heights, unrestrained by the rest of the French government. He consolidated his power in Paris and famously gave a speech stating, "L'etat, c'est moi." Which basically means "I am the state." So forget about the courts, the legislature or the Pope.

Is it just us, or does comparing the president with Louis XIV seem a little out of the democratic spirit of American government? Why Nixon's lawyer thought that it would score points for his client is beyond us. It certainly contributed to public opinion turning against Nixon, who was holding himself way above the law.