Stiff Lower Lip

This is the face of public shame in America. The New York Times' homepage featured this picture today:



I recognized it immediately, but not as the face of Ken Lewis, who announced his resignation as chief executive of the troubled Bank of America, my bank. I recognized it from last spring, and the picture that suddenly blanketed New York media:

Governor Eliot Spitzer's grimace was usually accompanied by shots of a frank prostitute from New Jersey.

But Spitzer must have got it from somewhere, right? A few years prior saw this fine example across the Hudson:

Then again, we probably shouldn't give Governor McGreevey too much credit. I'm sure you could find plenty of other examples. There's also this notable forebear: