After a ship-servicing contractor promised to arrange prostitutes for a Navy commander and his buddies in Malaysia and Singapore in 2009, according to court records, the officer, Cmdr. Jose Luis Sanchez, shot back a Facebook message saying, “Yummy … daddy like.”

Last fall, President Barack Obama threw what was billed as the first White House Science Fair, a photo-op in the gilt-mirrored State Dining Room. He tested a steering wheel designed by middle schoolers to detect distracted driving and peeked inside a robot that plays soccer. It was meant as an inspirational moment: children, science is fun; work harder.