One of my systemic pet peeves as an engineer (and perhaps one of the reasons that I'm a dead failure at "politics" at ANY level)is people who take a position on a topic based on an opinion, seek out other opinions which support that position and present the result as fact.
Makes me absolutely glow in the dark and throw things.
This is why, for once, I'm glad there will be hearings about this port deal starting at 11:00 today. I want to hear all the facts -- the good, the bad and the ugly.
That is a symptom of our times. I am frequently forced to form an opinion based on the opinion of those I respect because the "facts" are not available. One of my hobbies is the option market. Options are derivatives. And that is what we are frequently compelled to do in politics. We determine an opinion from a derivative of the facts, i.e. a person closer to the facts than we are. This is a particular problem with this Administration that keeps so much info close to the vest. The Clinton approach was to either bury, obscure or classify everything so as to limit access.