If you've ever met a whistleblower, or heard one give a speech, you never get the sense that they're too caught up in their 15 minutes, marching around to the beat of their kick ass do-gooderness. Typically, it's more of a matter-of-fact story and less a reflection on the heroic moments that turned an ordinary white-collar working stiff into Superman.
Of course, when you blow the whistle on Switzerland's largest bank for evading a few bajillion dollars in U.S. taxes, it's entirely possible that you might wake up one day and think, "I blew the whistle on Switzerland's largest bank for evading a few bajillion dollars in U.S. taxes."
From the Wall Street Journal, here's an old quote from new multi-millionaire Bradley Birkenfeld that appeared in Bloomberg back in 2010 when the story was rolling:
"I'm the most famous whistleblower in the history of the world. It's a question of doing the right thing, and that's what I did."
You got that? Sherron Watkins = chopped liver.
[WSJ via Tax Update]

“Cuts such as those in the House budget resolution would actually increase the deficit by decreasing revenue,” IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.