In a comment to a diary entry a few days ago I said that the Dem candidate needs to present a bold, hopeful, positive idea or theme that would (1) galvanize independent as well as Dem voters; (2) remind voters that things don't have to be the way they are now and (3) counter, hopefully preempt, whatever Bush is thinking of along these lines. Alan Murray has a column in today's WSJ making the same point. So what should it be?
Here's one idea: Let's make a better future for the country's children. (Disclosure: I don't have any kids, but I do have nieces, a nephew, a grand niece and nephew, and work with kids as a classroom volunteer.) This dovetails into the main themes of the campaign, jobs, education and health care, and is one way we can ease off our emphasis on seniors, who as a group are much better off than children. It also gives us all a way to care about someone besides ourselves, and puts the emphasis on a positive future.
The US is 42nd in infant mortality. This is a disgrace. There are relatively inexpensive ways to make childhood healthier. Minimizing childhood diseases is a way to strengthen public health, and if we let our public health system deteriorate any further, it will impact us all through epidemics. It is also a way to begin universal health care, as many have noted, and to start healthy habits early. And it ties into environmental issues.
Education is a no-brainer. The schools need help. Not big programs, but money enough for supplies and good teachers. (They also need a lot of volunteers.) And our society needs educated and trained workers. This is really an investment in our future.
There are plenty of jobs to be created in this area--early childhood education, teaching, health care etc. And unlike space exploration, which is in reality a giant middle class public works project, the dividends pay off right here by making us a better society in tangible ways.
Finally, caring about what happens to children is one way to get us off the short-term, what's-in-it-for-me attitude that has become so prevalent, and points us to community. The Dean campaign showed how lacking we are in community and how much people need ways to get together. But this is not so often inter-generational. We need to unite across generational lines too in our communities.
This is perfect for Dr. Dean, because who has a better feel for what will make a healthy future than a Doctor? This is a uniting, not a dividing theme, and puts the Reps on the defensive as the party of short-term greed. It also plays to social conservatives as well as anything.
All we need is a unifying slogan. Let's unite and build a healthy, safe and prosperous future, because our kids need us and we need them.