Low Moments In Congressional History

I’m sure there might be something else out there, perhaps the caning of Charles Sumner by Preston Brooks, but I think it was reached yesterday when a Congressional Committee started investigating Roger Clemens’ ass:

WASHINGTON — Throughout the confrontation between Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, much of the back and forth has been based on recollections of events as far as 10 years ago.

But on Wednesday, the committee produced documentary evidence that appeared — at least in part — to corroborate McNamee’s account that Clemens was treated for an infection in his left buttocks in 1998.

The only good thing that could have happened at that moment would have been if Daniel Webster and Henry Clay had risen from their respective graves and kicked those 40 morons out of their seats.

Update 2/15/2008: Henry Waxman now says he regrets the hearing was held at all:

WASHINGTON — A day after a dramatic, nationally televised hearing that pitted Roger Clemens against his former personal trainer and Democrats against Republicans, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said Thursday that he regretted holding the hearing in the first place.

The chairman, Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, said the four-hour hearing unnecessarily embarrassed Clemens, who he thought did not tell the truth, as well as the trainer, Brian McNamee, who he thought was unfairly attacked by committee Republicans.

“I think Clemens and McNamee both came out quite sullied, and I didn’t think it was a hearing that needed to be held in order to get the facts out about the Mitchell report,” Waxman said.

“I’m sorry we had the hearing. I regret that we had the hearing. And the only reason we had the hearing was because Roger Clemens and his lawyers insisted on it.”

Well, you could’ve said no Chairman.