Parallelogram?

Ralph E. Luker on Clayton Cramer:

...you begin with what you regard as a self-evident truth ... and then you clutch scattered droppings of evidence supporting your generalization...

Edward Ayers on James McPherson:

Like [Ken] Burns, McPherson uses quotation extensively and effectively; he lets the words of his protagonists carry his story. Persuasive Northern speakers come in at key points to make the liberal and nationalist statements attractive to McPherson.