The Quality of a Discussion Often Depends on How Closely

Essay

The quality of a discussion often depends on how closely the parties attend to the same issue. For the passage below, determine whether the speakers are clearly disputing the same issue, or whether somebody is missing the point.
A: I can't believe the student government paid John Kerry over a thousand dollars to come here and give a speech. He's been out of the news for ages, and he's clearly biased. They should have saved our money.
B: Listen, George Bush Sr. has been out of office for a while now too, and he's clearly as biased as anybody. Nevertheless, people pay tons of money for him to come and speak. So lay off about Kerry.