The politics of values

I confess to feeling a bit out of the loop on the political front since I didn't participate in the Democratic primary. (No matter, since the folks in my state who did particpate may as well have stayed home). I feel a bit like a Hatfield, watching from the front porch as the McCoys duke it out among themselves. But assuming Sen. Obama will be the nominee and the big race is about to begin, I'm starting to pay attention.

That's why this Wall Street Journal headline caught my eye:

Obama and the values questionmark

In the column, Douglas Schoen, a longtime Democratic political pollster and consultant, writes a recipe for how Obama must connect with voters by conveying his values. The problem is, Schoen's advice illustrates for me everything that's wrong with American politics today. Here's what he says Obama must do:

"First, and obviously symbolically, he must start wearing the flag lapel pin. He simply cannot afford to raise doubts about his patriotism...More substantively, he must also unabashedly support measures that reflect and emphasize his commitment to traditional American values."

A lapel pin? Be serious. I know we're a soundbite nation, but I just don't want to accept that it's come to this.

Here's my problem: Conveying one's core beliefs (read: values) ought not be a strategy for winning an election. Rather, beliefs ought to be evident in the solutions a leader proposes and in the philosophies he or she espouses. To that extent, I feel like Obama's values are not at all unclear.

Something about Schoen's column strikes me as incredibly shallow and expedient. Is it me whose the cynic here, or is it Schoen?