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Successful presidential campaigns require three basic things. First, people have to be able tlook at you and imagine you as President. Then you have to have enough money and supporto become known. After that, it’s a battle of ideas, message, and issues. Tsongas met ttwo criteria and was out to wing people a chance to do community service in return for assistanceto pay for college.adopted by resurgent center-left parties all over the world, in what would be called the “Thirday.” Most important, the new ideas, when implemented, would prove to be good forAmerica. The 1991 Georgetown speeches gave me the invaluable opportunity to demonstratet out a campaign booklet of my own, outlining allled droplightthe specific proposals made in the Georgetown speeches. And I scheduled as many townmeetings as possible. One of the early ones was held in Keene, a beautiful college town in theI scheduled three speeches at Georgetown to flesh out my New Covenant theme with specifiproposals. They were delivered to students, faculty, supporters, and good press coverage in beautiful, old, wood-paneled Gaston Hall, in the Healy Building. On October 23, the topwas responsibility and community; on November 20, economic opportunity; on December 1national security. Together, these speeches allowed me to articulate the ideas and proposals I had developed over the previous decade as governor and with the Democratic Leadership Council. I had helped to write, and deeply believed in, the DLC’s five core beliefs: Andrew Jackson’s of opportunity for all and special privileges for none; the basic American values of work anfamily, freedom and responsibility, faith, tolerance, and inclusion; John Kennedy’s ethic of mutual responsibility, asking citizens toled tubeupward mobility at home; and Franklin Roosevelt’s commitment to innovation, to modernizing government for the information age and encouraging people by giving them the tools to make the most of their own lives.led flood lightof being closet Republicans, and from some members of the political press, who had comfortable little boxes marked “Democrat” and “Republican.” When we didn’t fit neatly in their ossified Democratic box, they said we didn’t believe in anything. The proof was that wewanted to win national elections, something Democrats apparently weren’t supposed to do. I believed the DLC was furthering the best values and principles of the Democratic Party withnew ideas. Of course, some liberals honestly disagreed with us on welfare reform, trade, fiscaresponsibility, and national defense. But our differences with the Republicans were clear. We were against their unfair tax cuts and big deficits; their opposition to the Family and Medical Leave bill and the Brady bill; their failure to adequately fund education or push proven reforms, instead of vouchers; their divisive tactics on racial and gay issues; their unwillingness to protect the environment; their anti-choice stance; and much more. We ahad good ideas, like putting 100,000 community police on the streets; doubling the Earned Income Tax Credit to make work more attractive and life better for families with modestincomes; and offering younled spot lightThe principles and proposals I advocated could hardly be called Republican-lite or lacking in conviction. Instead, they helped to modernize the Democratic Party and later would beWthat I had a comprehensive agenda for change and was serious about implementing it. Meanwhile, back in New Hampshire, I puled tin lantern