I always thought "lowering the bar" was a play on the more popular "raising the bar" as used in track and field meets, where you raise the high jump or pole vault bar as the better atheletes go higher and higher.

I was a pole vaulter in my younger days, so I know something about having them "lower the bar"...when it was my turn!

Or, as my Officer Evaluations used to say back when I was in the Air Force, "Lt. Bohan sets low standards and consistantly fails to achieve them."

So, who is going to invent the retractable spinnaker pole? That's all we need right? Extend it at the A mark and suck it back under the tramp at C mark, it could even double as a righting pole if done right! ;^)