No matter when, the shortcomings of political leaders have been a depressing litany: corruption in office, sex scandals, verbal gaffes and the like. However, it is such an interesting thing that a politician falls out with fashion sense. Yukio Hatoyama, who is the Japanese Prime Minister, has become one of the politicians.

It is true that the beleaguered leader was already struggling in the polls, but his popularity has taken a nose dive since his appearance in public wearing a shirt that one US blog describes as "an item last seen shown up on the Arsenio Hall show."

Hatoyama wore the multicolored monstrosity to a recent barbecue with voters. voter. His approval raing has dropped 9 points since.

Japanese fashion critic Don Konishi told CNN that the fashion misfire shows that Hatoyama is way out of touch with the lives of everyday citizens. (Konishi also notes this isn't Hatoyama's first fashion offense — he once wore a pink blazer over a shirt emblazoned with hearts. While it's rare for a leader like Hatoyama to catch serious heat over an outfit, it certainly isn't unprecedented. In fact, several leading American politicians have also suffered fallout in the ever-delicate matter of dressing to impress the voting public. We've rounded up some of the more notable cases (and couldn't resist adding Kim Jong-il); the background on the missteps is below.