Third, he recognizes the importance and the sanctity of marriage. Social conservatives breathed a collective sigh with his selection. That's a difficult question, because regardless of the eloquence of the messenger, the message remains deadly. That's like asking if you ever see a meeting of the minds with people who belive in capital punishment. You are not a little bit dead, and you are not a little bit pregnant.
Nobody sheds their value system when talking about public policy.
Rather, it is a question of whose value system will be turned into public policy. The Democrats believe that there should be civil unions, as an example, between people of the same sex. That is not merely a political or public policy issue, that is a moral issue. Neither party steps away from morality. You, Michael, have to decide which moral code you want to subscribe to.