Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

"The only part of an argument that really matters is what we think of the people arguing. X claims a, Y claims b. They make arguments to support their claims, with any number of points. But when the listeners remember the discussion, what really matters is that X believes a and Y believes b. People then form their judgement on what they think of X and Y."

p. 71

And as I write this, Barak Obama has just made it as the Democratic nominee fo president. And we will all be looking at the "persuasive arguments" of the up coming campaign. And it will all come down to who we like, especially our friends.