Substance, indeed, was a way for Clinton to deflect questions about his personal conduct and assure voters that he knew how to fix the economy. Clinton, of course, never escaped questions about his integrity. In the current campaign, politicians who want to succeed him are again trying to use substance to prove their own character. The way you do that is by flashing the policy credential. That's not good enough.
Policy is the prism through which voters judge character.
The emphasis on substance may seem like a public service. But the bad news is that the more candidates propose, the more they overpromise. Clinton had ambitious plans for his national service program that were scaled back after his election. Chances are, most of the heady dreams of campaign 2000 will never be more than dreams.