LIBRARYOFTHEUNIVERSITYOF VERMONTANDSTATEAGRICULTURAL COLLEGECultureWar?TheMythofa Polarized America+MORRISP.FIORINASTANFORD UNIVERSITYWITHSAMUELJ.ABRAMSHARVARD UNIVERSITYANDJEREMYC.POPESTANFORD UNIVERSITYaiialb•:--r.• •NewYork·Boston·San FranciscoLondon·Toronto·Sydney·Tokyo·Singapore·MadridMexicoCity·Munich·Paris·CapeTown·HongKong.MontrealCHAPTERI+CultureWar?Thereisa religious war going on in this country, a culturalwarascriticaltothe kindofnation we shallbeasthe ColdWaritself, for this warisforthe soulofAmerica. *With those ringing words insurgent candidate Pat Buchananfired up his supportersatthe 1992 Republican National Conven-tion.Tobe sure, not all the assembled delegates cheered Buchanan'scalltoarms, which wasatodds with the "kinder, gentler" imagethat incumbent President George H.W.Bush had attempted toproject. Indeed, Republican professionals expressed concern aboutthe "family values" emphasisofthe convention in general, andBuchanan's remarks in particular.! Their concerns proved well..This quotation appears in slightly different forms throughout the literature, probably because it waswritten up differently by journalistswhocovered the speech andlor read slightly different versionsofit.This version is quoted inNancyDavis and Robert Robinson,"AWar for America's Soul?"InRhysWilliams, ed.,Cultural WarsinAmerican Politics(NewYork: Aldine de Gruyter, 1997);39.1AndrewRosenthal,"'The1992Campaign:Issues~'FamilyValues,'"NewYork Times,