"We live in an era when stark choices define our political decision making. Choose any side on a list of issues we hear about often. Tax cuts versus spending programs, immigrant rights or migrant criminals, and the continued war or immediate withdrawal.

There, you weighed in. You might feel better, but even if the solution you picked were imposed, would it really solve the problem? Not likely.

But the sharp tone of our political discourse masks the complexity of nearly every problem. If you look beyond the headlines or news sound bites, you quickly discover that there are consequences, good, bad and terrible, associated with what choice the nation makes. Governing is not always about the best decision, but looking for ways to avoid total calamity.

Consider the recent visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao. The narrative of his visit to Seattle was mostly about the prospects for a golden era for trade, a sentence or two of human rights added for effect. But as Hu traveled to Washington, D.C., the story advanced to one about the imbalance in that same trading relationship."

Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: Few easy choices in dealing with Saudis (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 4/30)

More Mark Trahant:
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Mark Trahant: Health care spending on the rise (2/27)
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Mark Trahant: Democracy an unfinished experiment (08/29)
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Mark Trahant: Three cheers for the First Amendment (01/10)
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Audio: Bush explains meaning of tribal sovereignty (8/6)
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