Sure, Jimmie Johnson won, confetti fell from the sky and in some parts it was possible to pretend that nothing untoward had happened.
Still, in the coruscating heat of a summer morning in Austin, amid the cheering throng of supporters, it was possible to pretend that things were better for Planned Parenthood in Texas than they actually were.
The problem, of course, is that we are, most of us, stupid and cruel, at least a little bit: that's why a million people are willing to pay to watch grown men concussing each other; that's why it's possible to pretend, as Antonio Margarito slumps against the ropes, humiliated, that something important has been decided.
As long as they remained out of view, it was possible to pretend they didn't exist.
If we're talking long, leisurely power lunches, then it's possible to pretend you're just out to eat rather than getting a little lift or laser.
It's possible to pretend that the debate concerns a "cliff" or the "population" or the "economy," but since we're talking sex with one another, we might as well get honest.
In America, nevertheless, it was still possible to pretend that the 60s were still alive: in Britain it wasn't.
Her departure for the safety of Salford, it was still possible to pretend, was a jump before being pushed.
On Kauai, it's still possible to pretend you're Robinson Crusoe, especially on the north shore with its giant-leafed trees, hanging vines and near-empty beaches.
Still, on one essential point Wright is surely correct: As this ill-advised, mismanaged war divided the nation, with substantial numbers of citizens turning againstthe armed forces, "it was no longer possible to pretend that military service was an obligation of citizenship in which all shared".
