the fact that it is about a family and the writers can use experiences from their own or their family's life as an inspiration in their writing. He thought "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" was a perfectly constructed episode in that sense. This episode also featured the debut of George H.W. Bush (the then-incumbent U.S. president), voiced by Harry Shearer, who would reappear as a recurring character throughout the years most notably in the season 7 episode "Two Bad Neighbors". Cultural references The title and plot of the episode are parodies of the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, in which the character Jefferson Smith comes to Washington with patriotic enthusiasm, but is instead shocked to see evidence of corruption in the government. The Tampa Tribunes Curtis Ross called this reference one of the best film references in The Simpsons history. Lisa's visit to the Lincoln Memorial is a direct reference to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, in which Smith appeals to Lincoln's statue for inspiration like Lisa did in the episode. In his book Abraham Lincoln in the Post-Heroic Era, Barry Schwartz writes that the scene with Lisa at the crowded monument shows how "thoroughly Lincoln's moral and emotional significance has waned". Mark Reinhart writes in the book Abraham Lincoln on Screen that the scene sums up "with brilliant wit" the American society's "annoying and ultimately useless tendency to ask [themselves] 'What would Lincoln have done?' whenever [they] face a political or social dilemma". Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was once again referenced on The Simpsons in the season fourteen episode "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington". In addition to the Lincoln Memorial, other Washington, D.C. landmarks visited include the Jefferson Memorial, the Watergate Hotel (where the family stays), the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the White House, the National Air and Space Museum, and the Washington Monument. When the family visits the White House, they encounter then-First Lady Barbara Bush in the bathtub of one of the many bathrooms. Another American landmark mentioned in the episode is Mount Rushmore. In addition, Lisa proposes that the family attend the memorial of the fictional Winifred Beecher Howe, an early crusader for women's rights who later appeared on the unpopular 75-cent coins, according to Lisa. This is a reference to the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which was minted for only three years and never became popular. The episode makes references