"The lesson should be, don’t throttle mistresses"...

FT has a great exploration of the ass-covering, smoke and mirrors shuffling taking place in the debris of the 2006 election cycle. Apparently, contrary to the President's belief that, "I was obviously working harder on this campaign than he was," the GOP has decided that the "thumping" was not Rove's fault, but was Iraq's...and, you know, the perverts, criminals and general miscreants. My personal favorite is Grover Norquist's overview:

“Bob Sherwood’s seat [in Pennsylvania] would have been overwhelmingly ours, if his mistress hadn’t whined about being throttled,” said Mr Norquist. Any lessons from the campaign? “Yes. The lesson should be, don’t throttle mistresses.”

To fully appreciate the art (and humor) involved, see Niccolo Machiavelli's, The Prince