I'm not sure if I agree with all or any of this piece by Jonathan Alter but I think there's an interesting discussion lurking in there somewhere. He's right that the word "values" has become a kind of lazy shorthand for something a bit more complex. Still, I think there are voters out there who go to the polls with the intent of voting for the "right" kind of person. He may be incompetent. He may even be a criminal in some areas, preferably those unrelated to sex. But those factors are less important to some folks than the kind of man they believe him to be.