When I think of the future of the Democratic Party I think of Ted Kennedy's 1980 convention speech where he defined his party in terms of its values, "old values," as he described them, "that will never wear out. Programs may sometimes become obsolete, but the ideal of fairness always endures. Circumstances may change, but the work of compassion must continue."

Famously, Kennedy's speech ended: "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." At this year's convention, both Michelle Obama and Kennedy himself echoed those words.

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