Ronald Reagan may not have lived up to all of his pro-liberty rhetoric and promises, but he could teach us a lesson as candidates, activists, and defenders of liberty in general.

Reagan's lesson, taken from an article by Carla Howell, was that it is not just how you answer a question -- it is which question you answer.  If you are asked a loaded anti-liberty question, you should redirect the conversation by pointing out the question's false assumptions -- or you can just answer the question you wish you had been asked.

I could also title this post "Yet Another Reason for Year of Youth."

ISI recently conducted a civic literacy survey with 2,508 people and found that those who had held elected office scored an average of 44% vs. 49% for those never elected.

Among the more tragic statistics about elected officials from the report:

• Seventy-nine percent of those who have been elected to government office do not know the Bill of Rights expressly prohibits establishing an official religion for the U.S.
• Thirty percent do not know that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence.
• Twenty-seven percent cannot name even one right or freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment.
• Forty-three percent do not know what the Electoral College does. One in five thinks it either “trains those aspiring for higher political office” or “was established to supervise the first televised presidential debates.”
• Fifty-four percent do not know the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war. Thirty-nine percent think that power belongs to the president, and 10% think it belongs to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• Only 32% can properly define the free enterprise system, and only 41% can identify business profit as “revenue minus expenses.”

I'm guessing that the average Year of Youth participant -- or even YAL member in general -- could ace this test.  (I'm pretty sure that I could, though I admit I'm a little fuzzy on Sputnik.)  This is a great example of how much we need a new generation with a strong understanding of liberty, history, and the Constititution to win on principle.

Americans LOVE this about Michele Bachmann:

To understand why presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has surged in Iowa, watch when she is handed a baby. On a recent stop here, she took off her bracelet, dangled it before the infant and cradled him while he teethed on the pearls.

During another campaign appearance, Ms. Bachmann climbed down from the stage to take the hands of a woman who asked a question, holding them as she answered. Meeting a teenager with Down syndrome, the Minnesota congresswoman swept him up in a hug, then signed his T-shirt.

Americans are very warm people. We eat this stuff up like a college student eats undercooked ramen noodles. If you want another example, take a very close look at the difference between Bush (Sr.) and Bill Clinton when they answer this woman's question during a presidential debate:

Note within the first five seconds of the video, George Bush is checking his watch while the lady is beginning to ask her question. Throughout his answer, he rambles, looks around nervously, and then condescendingly lectures the questioner. He appears cold, disinterested, and uncaring.

Then observe the incredible contrast Bill Clinton makes with his answer. He walks up as close as he can to the questioner, looks her in the eyes and asks her to repeat how she's personally been affected by the issue she raises. Maintaining perfect eye contact and really talking to her like a human being, Clinton explains how he's also been affected by it and how he would specifically work to change it as president.

THIS is how you win elections because it's how you win hearts and minds.

This video commentary and column was produced by Jack Hunter exclusively for YAL's Year of Youth project. To receive the Winning on Principle Newsletter and more in the future, please sign up today at www.YearOfYouth.org.

POLITALKING: PITCHING FREEDOM POLITICALLY
TAILORING YOUR MESSAGE TO WIN by Jack Hunter

As I write this column, neoconservatives and many in the Republican establishment are criticizing 2012 GOP presidential candidates Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and Mitt Romney for opposing the American intervention in Libya and for suggesting that America needs to get out of Afghanistan.

Recognizing that such non-interventionism is relatively new for each of these candidates, many constitutional conservatives automatically dismiss them as being Johnny-come-latelies.

They are wrong to dismiss them.