Incredibly, there was but one panel held in the plenary hall that had as its principal subject the question of national defense.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: "Where's the rest of me?"

The principal reason for the delay was the ever divisive question of who would control the country's immense oil wealth.

FORBES: Slick Solution

But others question the likelihood of success without reducing the principal.

ECONOMIST: The foreclosure plan

Sure Italy bond yields are now over 6%, but the question is, are they really going to pay that principal back?

FORBES: Where Investors Are Being Paid To Take On Risk

Petersburg, the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a guest conductor everywhere else does not solve the question that has puzzled music lovers for two decades: How does Gergiev do everything he does?

NEWYORKER: You Cannot Start Without Me��Valery Gergiev, Maestro

With the debt-ceiling crisis, however, the willingness to wait until the last moment removed any chance of learning and, more to the point, there was never much of a commitment to learning on the part of many of the principal actors: over and over again we were informed that such thoughtful exploration was out of the question because of prior campaign pledges made to constituents.

FORBES: Debt-Ceiling Roulette: Leadership Lessons