One might recall that in 1968, the Wise Men, a group of Democratic policymakers that included Dean Acheson, Clark Clifford, and Mac Bundy and which shaped our Cold War policy under Truman, lost their nerve over the Vietnam War, into which they had done so much to get the US involved. In March of that year, right after our troops had won a major victory in turning back the North Vietnamese Winter-Spring Offensive, and with the public still supporting the war effort, these Wise Men told President Johnson that the war could not be won.
They're right.
But that doesn't mean we who DO deserve victory need to share their diminished expectations. Sadly, they are more than willing to export their low self-image. More sadly, there are others willing to accept delivery.
Witness the recent elections ...