The Democrats' Mutual Morality . . .

[Freddie Stubbs]

By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Tuesday, January 13, 2004; Page A17

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Rep. Richard A. Gephardt is the bread-and-butter candidate who talks about lost jobs and trade. But in the middle of his stump speech at a packed rally in the public library here last Friday, a sermon broke out.

Health coverage, he said, is not about economics. "It's a moral issue," he insisted. "It is immoral for people not to be covered by health insurance." And he closed by riffing with a preacher's rhythm on the refrain "We're all tied together" to evangelize about mutual responsibilities and social obligations.

Gephardt is not alone in explicitly using the m-word. In union halls, veterans' posts and civic centers across Iowa, Democratic presidential candidates stumping for next week's caucuses have lost their allergy to invoking moral language to talk about public policy.

Not long ago, a politician who used the word "moral" was about to talk about "permissiveness" and "cultural decline." But the new "moral majority" being forged on the campaign trail is built on a yearning for community and a promise of social justice.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11574-2004Jan12.html