What on earth did Number 10 imagine would happen once they tried laying down conditions for the appearance of a coalition minister on last night's BBC Question Time programme? Universally condemned, they've made themselves look interfering and, probably worse, scared of Alastair Campbell.
The smack of inexperience, perhaps? Or a learned response after the last time Andy Coulson demanded politically sensitive concessions from a major broadcaster? Maybe they really thought they'd get their way. Remember the curious case of Trevor MacDonald's ITV "Meet the Camerons" film?
