A clarification–to answer e-mails I am getting. I am (obviously) not saying criticizing the president is pointless. I think some of my posts make that pretty clear. But at some point the pile-on just becomes completely demoralizing and maybe not all that productive. Yes, this is “not acceptable.” That was an acknowledgement. But then saying Miserable failure! over and over isn’t doing anything constructive. I take him at his word (“not acceptable”), that he is not tone-deaf, at least this morning. Now let’s see if this scene gets better over the coming hours and days and then from then on, too…because this is going to be a long effort from a lot of people.

Mark has a point: At some point chatterers’ chatter doesn’t help. People just need to move, which they are. The president knows the reality more than even The Corner does (!) and how it looks to the rest of the country. So now let’s see if it gets better. That’s where I am.