Just to be clear, I did not mean to be taking a shot in an earlier post at Pete, whose contributions always enrich my understanding even if I don’t come out the same way. I was reacting to Sen. McCain’s ode to bipartisanship and what would be the irrelevance of arguments based on principle if one’s only principle were the need to achieve consensus. I used Pete’s post to make a point about what I believe is McCain’s folly, but I should have said what goes without saying: Pete’s positions are always principled, informed and immensely well argued.