We aim to promote both bedrock Democratic principles and a better way of doing politics. This means applying our values not just to policy issues but to the way we think about politics itself. The following political values are at the heart of our vision for America. Elections are Not Enough: If Democrats and liberals continue to approach politics one election at a time, we will fail to improve life in America. Real political success means more than electoral success: it is the long-term achievement of the substantive goals that motivate us to seek election in the first place. An electoral victory can be a failure for our values if they are compromised too deeply along the way. Likewise, a defeat at the polls can be a victory in disguise if the campaign has helped to move voters permanently towards our values. A Democratic presidency can be a great boost to our cause, but it must not be confused with the cause itself. Pursuing real political success means having the patience and moral strength to refrain from the tactics of equivocation and vagueness, because their transitory advantages come with an unacceptable long-term cost. Leadership and Integrity: It is impossible to lead people to where they already are. Part of the calling of a political leader is to stand by unpopular positions when they are right, and use his or her skills and influence to make them popular. An individual who lacks this gift, or is unwilling to use it, is no leader. Nor is an individual who clings to ideology, even when facts undermine his or her assumptions. Generally, public opinion craves true leadership: voters are more likely to reject a candidate because he or she appears willing to say anything than because they disagree with the candidate’s positions. Ideas Inform Policy: The generation of conservatives now governing America has succeeded in converting big ideas into sweeping action. Now the left must re-learn how to work with big ideas. Our approach must make more room for reality than that of the neoconservatives, but like them we will begin with ideas. We must better understand the ideas behind what we already believe, and our thinkers and our politicians will have to work more closely together. Bold Solutions, Civil Discussions: America's polarization is asymmetrical. On the right, ideology has run amok, its dangers compounded by opportunism. On the left, an increasingly shrill tone is concealing a muddled, timid agenda. Until Democrats offer a bold agenda in candid and civil terms, our party will be part of the problem. In calling for boldness, we do not embrace shrillness: in fact, paradoxically, candor about values and disagreements is the best way to ensure civility in public debate. Hope, not Fear: There are fundamentally two ways to motivate citizens politically, hope and fear. The right has been extremely effective in the use of fear, and the left has not mounted a serious effort to combat this with hope. Americans' fear is like oxygen for terrorists and poison for communities. The political use of fear undermines the security of the nation and the integrity of the republic, and Democrats must neutralize it by inspiring hope. Our vision for American civic life begins with the politics of hope.