But something is missing. Politicians campaign now in an environment of competing and sometimes conflicting values. For Ridge's campaign, the challenge was to make a family values ad for the late 1990s. Candidates wrap themselves in flag and family, in faith in God. They project solidarity with working people, talk tough about criminals, show sensitivity toward children and the elderly and link education to creating opportunity.
Politicians bash big government as they align themselves with popular spending programs.
They prize rugged individualism while holding that people should look out for one another. They assert a right of privacy while defending community standards of decency. The investigation into President Clinton's relationship with Monica S. Lewinsky has forced the country to engage in an eight-month debate over private conduct and public morality. National polls showing approval for Clinton's performance as president and disapproval of his conduct demonstrate the conflicting values people bring to political life. They are the reason for the frustration Republicans have voiced over the failure of the nation thus far to rally behind an impeachment inquiry, and the reason the White House and Democrats see a glimmer of hope in their present dismal circumstances.