High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! "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.