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I know that if there's one resource that's never in short supply in a campaign, it's unsolicited avdvice. And that kind of advice is invariably worth a lot more to the would-be-advisor (who feels good simply to get it off his or her chest) that it is to the candidate. That said, here, for what it's worth, and written from my perch in the safely democratic state of Vermont, is my unsolicited advice to the Kerry-Edwards campaign.
IT'S THE PHILOSOPHY, STUPID
If I hear “It’s still the economy, stupid” one more time, I think I’ll scream. While I understand that many people “vote their pocketbooks,” I for one think that many more people actually “vote their philosophy” (and even more would if encouraged to do so by the candidates, who are in the unique position of being able to articulate the philosophy that will best resonate with people). In my mind, Clinton did not win because he focused on the economy, he won because he articulated a broad philosophy (“Putting People First”) that people liked, and because people believed he truly understood their real concerns and shared their real values.
Building a campaign around the economic non-performance of the incumbent seems a hollow and dangerous strategy to me for three basic reasons: (1) It is a negative appeal, not a positive one, (2) Economic statistics are subject to manipulation and spin to such a degree that any incumbent can make their performance sound good in one way or another, and (3) Voters recognize that economic performance is a cyclical phenomenon, and won’t hold a downturn against the incumbent if they think his policy and philosophy are fundamentally correct.
People, I believe, much more powerfully want a leader whose PHILOSOPHY they think is right, not just someone who MIGHT be able to manage the economy a little bit better.
That’s why I think Job #1 for John Kerry and John Edwards is to return to the POPULIST PHILOSOPHICAL THEMES we heard about in the primaries and during the convention, and insist that those themes are the TRUE AMERICAN VALUES we hold most dear as a nation.
More specifically, I would suggest they start re-iterating themes like these:
This election is about the core American value of FAIRNESS and EQUALITY, about electing someone who do all he can to make sure all Americans are treated fairly and not electing someone who only wants to help those who are already well-off!
This election is about the core American values of OPPORTUNITY and FAIR REWARD for hard work and sacrifice, about electing someone who will do all he can to make sure every American with a desire to succeed and improve their lives can do that, and not electing someone who is more interested in rewarding the privileged and powerful, and whose economic promise for the majority of Americans is “don’t worry, all those tax cuts for the wealthy should trickle down to you at some point”.
This election is about the core American values of HONESTY and STRAIGHT TALKING, about electing someone who won’t mislead us into war with false information and exaggerated claims and arguments, who won’t make energy policies that favor corporate contributors in secret, who won’t cynically misuse the words “ownership,” “freedom” and “choice” to promote health care and retirement policies that favor the wealthy and undercut and dismantle the bedrock social safety programs that have protected Americans since the days of the Depression, and who won’t cynically spin economic statistics to hide their policy failures like the net loss of over 1.5 Million jobs in three and a half years.
This election is about the American values of COMMUNITY and HELPING ONE ANOTHER, about electing someone who will make sure that the most vulnerable citizens – the elderly, children and the working poor - are given the minimal means to lead dignified lives, and who will make sure that these people do not fall further behind due to the enactment of cynical “policies” like health savings accounts favor the wealthy and undercut Medicaid and Medicare programs.
This election is about the core American values of PROGRESS and BUILDING A BRIGHTER FUTURE, about electing someone who has a hopeful and forward-thinking vision for our future as a nation, based on ideas like harnessing our technological and scientific assets to develop world-changing energy technologies that will free us from damaging economic dependence on oil and ensure a cleaner environment for our children.
This election is about the core American values of MORAL LEADERSHIP and COOPERATION in international affairs, about electing someone who understands the importance of building and maintaining cooperative alliances with other countries, and using our resources and influence to promote the economic and social development of poor countries and thereby to address and eradicate the conditions that give rise to the instability and ignorance at the roots of terrorism.
This election is about the core American value of GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE, about electing someone who will put the people’s business – and not corporate interests - first again, and who will nurture a strong business climate while not appointing scores of corporate lobbyists to important regulatory positions, and not letting corporations and businesses write our laws and dictate our public policies in crucially important areas like the environment, energy policy and health care.
I for one believe this would be a very powerful strategy, and one that would resonate very strongly with independent and swing voters. That's because I think people see this election as being about defining what our real national values are, and about what our long term national future should look like, not merely about how their personal finances might be improved in the short term.
And wouldn't it be heartenting to learn, after Kerry and Edwards become our new President and Vice President, that they won by focusing on the much more idealistic mantra of "It's the Philosophy, stupid"?
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