gimulnautti, 
”I don’t endorse what so-and-so is saying, but he does make a good point!”
No. You just did: Endorse this person.
But we are so into #internet and #identitypolitics, we cannot anymore talk about #issues without a persona’s involvement.
We are so bound up in picking of sides, we cannot make a point without drawing a picture of a leader in the middle.
Because you don’t actually need the so-and-so. You don’t need them at all!
But this is a hard learning. It is easier to root for a crowd.