Since last week's the election debacle, there has been some debate about the impact of "values" as a campaign issue. I'll leave it to others to decide whether the various gay marriage amendments pushed the Republicans over the top.
What I want to discuss here is how the Democrats talk about values. I've spent a few days analyzing speeches from the last four Democratic National Conventions, and I believe a good case can be made that the more Democrats talk about values, the more likely they are to win.
In 2000 and 2004, the Democratic presidential candidates were uncomfortable talking about values. Al Gore and John Kerry both touched lightly on the subject.
Here's John Kerry from his convention speech this summer:
For four years, we've heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They're what we live by. They're about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.
Kerry even gets specific:
We believe in the family value of caring for our children and protecting the neighborhoods where they walk and play.
And:
We believe in the family value expressed in one of the oldest Commandments: "Honor thy father and thy mother." As President I will not privatize Social Security.
Finally:
We believe in the value of doing what's right for everyone in the American family.
These are good values, but they are lost in the middle of a speech devoted mostly to other subjects. And, after making the connection between values and actions, Kerry neglected to name an action for two of the three values.
It's not just Kerry. Four years ago, Al Gore said this when accepting the nomination:
There is something else at stake in this election that's even more important than economic progress. Simply put, it's our values.
Specifically:
Putting both social security and Medicare in an ironclad lock box where the politicians can't touch them. To me, that kind of common sense is a family value.
What else?
Getting cigarettes out of the hands of kids before they get hooked is a family value.
And:
A new prescription drug benefit under Medicare for all our seniors, that's a family value.
Again, these are good values, but they are hardly inspiring. And they are buried in the middle of a speech devoted mainly to other subjects.
Middle class Americans working long hours and struggling to make ends meet are not moved by detailed policy discussions. They want to know their representatives understand them. They want to know they can trust their leaders. They want to know their leaders share their values.
The good news is that the values of the Democratic party are the values Americans want their leaders to have. When Democrats articulate their values, they win.
In part 2 I'll show how Bill Clinton used three key words to turn the values issue to his advantage.
