“I feel sick about what’s happened to Al because I think that he legitimately would dispute many of the accusations that have come up but was trying to show that he respects women and believes they should be believed,” said one top-ranking Democratic strategist, who spoke candidly on condition of anonymity. “I bet you there are sitting Democratic senators, and many on the Republican side too, who are guilty of far worse things than him. So it does gnaw at you. But it had to happen anyway.”

Or, as one senior Democratic aide put it: “Of course it is a clusterfuck. But you have no choice.”