Yet the government's overriding concern for social stability has too often been the sole priority.
It may not have been United at their most fluent but a win was the sole priority on Wearside and Moyes will now hope the reigning Premier League champions move towards top gear.
But threat to life cannot be the sole condition of priority.
Now, they are a very winnable – indeed favored – Nevada seat away from a 50/50 tie in the Senate where Susan Collins would be the sole derailing vote for any Republican priorities for the last two years of Trump's term.
Minimizing costs in a supply chain is no longer the sole priority of businesses.
In the corporate boardroom, where inflating TV deals make relegation survival the sole priority, standing still is akin to progress.
Becoming financially solvent and educated has been a long and empowering process, but the urgency of being the sole income-earner has made it a priority.
(Cotton was the sole nay).
The Roosevelts were the sole triumph.
