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Find shared principles / Readers Response

It is time we reasserted a shared set of American principles for each party and each citizen to work toward.

With the health-care bill we have just witnessed an alarming display of brinksmanship regarding a decision that will make a critical difference in the everyday lives of ordinary Americans. We have seen senators in the dark about the content of bills they were preparing to amend, and supporting unwritten bills they hoped would never become law.

This ended with a courageous vote and a clarion call for a return to bipartisanship from Sen. McCain.

It is easy for us all to glare at the other "side" – to think this is a call for "them."

Elected Democrats now are under enormous pressure to vote against everything "Trump."

When Barack Obama became president, Sen. McConnell stated that his number-one goal was to make sure that he was a one-term president. Number-one!

Sen. McCain's moment gives us all the opportunity to pull back from that terrible brink, not just with health care but also across our whole polarized dynamic. It is time we reasserted a shared set of American principles for each party and each citizen to work toward.

Robert Leming, Philadelphia, robert.rudy.leming@gmail.com