(Washington D.C.) Unnamed sources in the nation's capitol today confirmed the death of Shame, following a long, painful struggle against years of indifference from elected officials, the news media and society.

Shame's demise comes on the heels of other notable losses in 1998. Honesty died last January. Embarrassment passed away on the evening of Aug. 17. The last known member of that moral tradition, Guilt, has been missing for years in Washington and is presumed dead.

"This evidently marks the end of an era in our nation's history," said a White House spokesman. "The administration feels the pain of this passing. But Shame served its purpose and now we must move on to other things while crossing the bridge to the 21st century."

Shame had been a powerful force in Washington, and throughout the country, for as long as anyone could remember.

During wars, financial depressions and numerous social movements, Shame always served as a personal check and balance on the powerful, according to a researcher at the Library of Congress.

"Whenever we had trouble right here in River City, Shame forced people to face the music," said Mary Ann Marian, madam librarian. "Even if a president tried to ignore Shame, the public demanded he change his tune."

The first modern challenge to Shame's power came in the 1960s when prayer was removed from the nation's schools and a new generation began belittling the beliefs of earlier generations.

Although Shame struggled during this decade, it still weighed heavily in the decision-making process.

That power ebbed even more in the 1970s as porno magazines gained popularity, the U.S. Supreme Court approved Roe v. Wade, and cheating on assignments became acceptable behavior at school and work.

But Shame staged a dramatic comeback in 1974 when the Nixon administration was brought down for its illegal behavior.

"Even then, a nation and its leaders could still be humbled by Shame," Marian said.

After this last hurrah, Shame plunged dramatically as the "me-generation" surfaced in the 1980s.

"Shame was never the same after that," Marian added.

In recent years, well-known figures in business, sports, entertainment and health care made headlines for unprecedented behavior. Shame wasn't considered as prostitutes sold popular books about their profession, financiers bilked clients, basketball players beat up their coaches, rock musicians sang Satanic lyrics and unlicensed doctors gave patients lethal injections as television audiences watched in droves.

Still, Shame held out the faint hope that our elected officials might respond and pursue a different agenda during an era of sex, lies and videotape.

Such thoughts faded as residents of Washington, D.C., returned a convicted felon to the mayor's office and the nation twice elected a president who discussed his underwear on MTV, dropped his drawers near the Oval Office, and lied about his relationship with an intern.

"Apparently, in olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking. Now heaven knows, anything goes even boxers and briefs," said Marian, with a smile.

"It's clear that Shame no longer exists. And as long as our economy booms and the polls indicate public contentment, what difference does it make?"

A few old timers vaguely recall a Bible verse associated with Shame. They think it is Isaiah 5:20, which says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil." Marian said researchers are checking out the validity of this claim and will present their findings to the attorney general for an official ruling.

A proposed memorial service for Shame in the Capitol rotunda was blocked by the American Civil Liberties Union.

"Any public discussion of Shame would violate the separation of church and state," said an ACLU spokesperson. "There's no controlling legal authority to permit such action."

Shame left no immediate survivors. Anyone wishing to contribute to a memorial fund is urged to keep the money and use it to build their self-esteem.