Colour me skeptical of the theory that things have to get worse before they can get better.  That's what the Jews said in Germany c. 1933.  The problem with history is that things can always get worse, and just as you think they can get no worse, they actually do.

And the problem with a traumatised population is that their expectations just get lower and lower, and suddenly, in retrospect, Bush doesn't seem so bad after all - he didn't quite manage to start a world war...

"It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."