In December 1950, after having led us into a very costly war in Korea, Harry Truman in ill thought attempt to defend his daughter Margaret's public singing performance, wrote a nasty letter to the Washington Post's music critic, Paul Hume.
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/trivia/letter.htm
The response, from many in America, especially those who had lost loved ones in the Korean War, was one of indignation over the unimportance of Margaret's singing career considering the thousands of young men who were dying overseas. Truman's already struggling approval rating plummeted.
This week at the National Press Club Dinner, President Bush thought it pretty funny to joke about the fact that they haven't found any Weapons in Iraq.
The response has not been kind.