Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda Meaning

Example : 1995 Nov. 17, A. M. Rosenthal, "The Great Botch-Up," New York Times (retrieved 16 June 2015):  President Clinton . . . had his clear shot at health-care reform, if we need it, he and his wife, but they blew it. As Mrs. Clinton might say, woulda coulda shoulda.2006 Feb. 21, Mike Rowbottom, "Retirement talk works wonders for Dorfmeister," Independent (UK) (retrieved 16 June 2015):  Rahlves described the team's overall skiing performance here as, "woulda, shoulda, coulda—all that stuff. It sucks—we definitely came up very short."2008 July 7, David Van Biema and Tim McGirk, "Was Jesus' Resurrection a Sequel?," Time (retrieved 16 June 2015):  [S]uch a contentious reading of the 87-line tablet depends on creative interpretation of a smudged passage, making it the latest entry in the woulda/coulda/shoulda category of possible New Testament artifacts.2014 Dec. 18, Doug Smith, "Three things to ponder from easy Raptors win," Toronto Star (Canada) (retrieved 18 June 2015):  [H]e was talking about last night’s game and what it would have meant to have this roster last spring. . . .  â€œShoulda, coulda, woulda” he started. “If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas, right?”