The impeachment of Bill Clinton near the end of his presidency was one of the most embarrassing moments in the history of the United States government.  The president virtually declared that he couldn't define the word "is."  More than 200 representatives in Congress demonstrated a weak grasp of the word "other."  Millions of dollars were wasted on an assumption that a majority of American voters didn't know what they were doing when Clinton was elected, not once but twice!  Embarrassing, indeed.

Different Drummer: Alexis de Tocqueville