phylogenetic tree algorithms

[dstoltz at ac.dal.ca]

I know this is something of a can of worms, but could someone give me
a good answer, which is not ideologically based on the following 
question:

	Which is a more (objectively) accurate way of peforming 
     	phylogenetic tree reconstruction, an algorithim based on
	distances, or one based on parsimony analysis?

The literature I have seen tends to be polarised in to one or the other
of the camps, with no very good scientific data supporting either claim.
Does such a study exist?  Is one type of algorithim better than another
in specific instances? etc....


Thanks for any advice...


Paul Fawcett, Dept of Microbiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada