Yet complex problems are never solved by sound-bites, divisive rhetoric and an unquestioning faith in simple, "common sense" solutions.
As Kennedy scribe Ted Sorenson recalled in his brilliant memoir, Kennedy, earlier drafts included a domestic section, but the President-elect thought "it sounded partisan, divisive, and too much like the campaign".
"Meanwhile, divisive rhetoric and a culture of sound bites threaten to drown out rational dialogue and debate.
We are concerned that this potentially divisive hypothesis is not founded on sound evidence, and we have attempted to highlight the multiple important confounding factors in this study that are not addressed by studies such as this.
Mr Kaczynski sounds avuncular rather than divisive, stressing the need for decisiveness at a time of crisis.
The impresario and iconoclast Malcolm McLaren, who has died aged 64 from the cancer mesothelioma, was one of the pivotal, yet most divisive influences on the styles and sounds of late 20th-century popular culture.
Even on the divisive tax issue, however, Mr. Cantor can sometimes sound as if he is leaving a door open.
In Congress, I will continue to sound the alarm and denounce the divisive, xenophobic and dangerous policies of the president-elect, his cabinet nominees and Congressional Republicans.
Indeed, it sounds a lot more like the divisive rhetoric that infects the most vitriolic liberal and conservative blogs.
If you turned the sound off and just watched, he looked divisive, even cranky.With the sound on, it was little better.
