But the blatant tokenism that has marred President Clinton's cabinet selection process has no place in Republican policy. It has no place in American society.
And Bill Clinton has no right claiming that he is the new Ross Perot. He assumes that his comments about political reform, shared sacrifice, tax increase and empowerment entitles him to the Perot constituency. Well, I know Ross Perot. I worked for Ross Perot. Mr. Clinton, you're no Ross Perot. You're not even Admiral Stockdale.
Republican priorities of lower taxes, less government and individual empowerment are messages that cut across racial, income and partisan lines. And that cuts right to the heart of the current internal party debate. Republicans win not by building electoral coalitions but by building bridges--philosophical and ideological bridges.
As Republicans, we must reaffirm the basic tenets of personal responsibility and accountability. This is where the Democrats, particularly Bill Clinton, run into trouble; their societal collectivism and commitment to government intervention conflicts with a rugged, private individualism that most Americans still hold sacred.
Examples of this private individualism are everywhere, if we just look. Republicans should be applauding teachers like Jaime Escalante, the courageous East Los Angeles calculus instructor immortalized in the movie "Stand and Deliver." We must promote crime fighters like Ruben Greenberg, who united a city, empowered its people, and cleaned up the streets of Charleston, South Carolina.
Republicans must also take a different outlook on life. Media carping aside, the American culture rests on a positive, forward-looking value system. Optimism is as uniquely America as apple pie. We may grumble and ruminate about the way things are right now, and we may romanticize about days gone by, but we believe at our core that things well get better with time.
Years ago, de Tocqueville wrote that the American is uniquely endowed with an infinite faculty for improvement. That spirit survives.
Ronald Reagan wasn't our most successful presidential candidate in history because he was the Great Communicator. He won two landslide victories because he was the Great Optimist. But whenever Republican rhetoric or behavior contradicts the cultural expectation of optimism and success, as it did in 1992, we fail.
Reagan wore his convictions on his sleeve. You knew where he stood and respected him for it. We will not recapture the White House until we have a leader who has a defined platform and doesn't run away from it. As Republicans, we must define ourselves by what we are, not just by what we are against. We must develop a coherent set of policies and principles, and then run on them.
And we cannot allow the Grand Old Party of optimism and opportunity to become the party of perpetual pessimism. George Bush spent too much time warning America about the hazards of the opposition rather than laying claim to their concept of change. It was always someone else's fault--Congress, the media, the bureaucracy. Republicans should not play the blame game.
When asked why he was such a great sculptor, Michelangelo replied that the beauty of his work was already in the rock, and all he did was find the masterpiece within it.
The messages we Republicans need to find our way back to power already lie within the rock of our beliefs. And our Michelangelos--Jack Kemp, Bill Bennett, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Vin Weber--have already begun to create a new masterpiece. If we can hold together until it is completed, a new president is but four years away.
Frank Luntz is an Institute of Politics Fellow and a former Pollster for Ross Perot.