Portal:The Simpsons/Selected episode/29

"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" is the second episode of The Simpsons' third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1991. In the episode, Lisa enters in an essay contest to write an essay about America's greatness. When she successfully wins it, she and the family travel to Washington, D.C. where the finals are to be held. Lisa is dismayed after witnessing a bribery scandal in the Senate. In her final essay, she disdains and condemns the government system, which leads to the arrest of the corrupt congressman who accepted the bribe. While Lisa fails to win the contest, her faith in government is restored.

The episode was written by George Meyer and directed by Wes Archer, and it was the first episode for which Al Jean and Mike Reiss served as show runners. It features multiple references to the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, including the scene in which Lisa appeals to Lincoln's statue at the Lincoln Memorial for advice. Other Washington landmarks referenced in the episode include the Jefferson Memorial, the Watergate Hotel, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the White House, the National Air and Space Museum, and the Washington Monument. The episode acquired a Nielsen rating of 12.9, and was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired. It received mostly positive reviews from television critics, who praised the episode for its satire on American politics. However, the timber industry criticized the scene in which Lisa witnesses a timber industry lobbyist offering a bribe to the congressman in order to demolish the Springfield Forest.