I've been proud of Boeing ever since I can remember. No other company or country in the world came close to what Boeing was. Relatives had commanded Boeing airplanes in wartime and frequent travelers in the family told me that they only rode on Boeing airliners as they were the best. Douglas had owned the piston airline market until you had the guts to make the leap to pure jets with the 707. Douglas fought back with the DC-8, but bankrupted themselves, and then merged with and played second banana to the radically different corporate culture of McDonnell, creating a company so internally confused that its airplanes never were close to your offerings.
Comedians use that poor excuse for an airplane as a one-liner.
You have decided to develop the sonic cruiser, another bold choice in which you recalled your successful history of selling speed. You were the best. No one could touch you. But, somehow, you started making strange decisions every once in a while. It seemed to begin with the competition from the Airbus series.