Just throw in a mention of children, and you get an applause line. Meanwhile, other presidential candidates have indicated they'll be playing the children card. We've gotten busy. And we're not taking care of the kids. What it all means, of course, is that parents are doing a lousy job of raising their children because, basically, they're selfish, greedy and immature.
Truth has that effect on honest people.
Instead, the candidates talk about absences, lacks and imbalances as though they're some abstract impositions cast upon the dumbfounded by external forces beyond voters' control. And since it's not your fault, darling voter, you can't fix it. But if you elect me, I'll make it better. You didn't do it. If there is an external force to be reckoned with, it is precisely the suggestion that government can fix problems that only individuals can repair.