What To Say?

This is a pretty good example of how impossible truth telling is once one is a politician.  You cannot, under any circumstances, say it, if you perhaps think something like this: 

"Well, we won the executive branch and both houses of Congress, and we did everything we could think of in 18 months.  It didn't have the effect we wanted, and we don't know why.  We had exactly what we wanted - all the power and a charismatic leader.  We took action and accomplished what we set out to do - in spades!  No president in history had more legislative victories in as short a time as ours did.  It just didn't work.  Again, we have no idea why.  So, we think the elections in November will be a bloodbath for our party.  It's going to sting, it's going to hurt, we'll never get over wondering where this went wrong.  Sure, we'll come up with some mud and throw it at the GOP, we have to, we can't just roll over and play dead.  But really, come one, you can see what's happening.  We had it all in our hands and we frocked it away."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/23/AR2010092304746.html