In the year of character, issues still matter

ISSUES IN A PRESIDENTIAL-ELECTION year are often like the fat books that we’re glad to own but don’t plan to read. Voters say they crave substance, a campaign focused less on the cartoon-character smackdown and more on the small-print spreadsheets of serious policy positions. Candidates offer “platforms,” a metaphor reinforcing the myth that their proposals are the structural foundation on which their presidency will be built. And most voters say that policy matters more than personality when they cast their ballots.

But watch what we do,