Should we expect governance by principled, trustworthy elected leaders with pertinent experience and detailed background on specific issues - or by ongoing public polling of constituents lacking in-depth knowledge of all aspects of each timely subject? The outcome seems destined to be both. That’s a good thing, as it encourages our Congressional representatives to detail their reasoning for seeking amendments or casting votes one way or the other. The people we send to Washington usually have appropriate intellectual capabilities. Too many, however, seem to think they are there merely to support the party line rather than explain their analysis of each debatable proposal. They have an implicit educational duty to constituents aligned with different parties - to show that superficially apparent red or blue positions frequently could be susceptible to some purplish-hue resolution. We need to get beyond the Red Sox versus Yankees political mentality and focus on the all-star game. Phil Osifer