Candidates, Hear the Cry: 'No Group Left Behind'

By NANCY CANTOR

Individualism is the bedrock of this nation's ideology, and it is often expressed in a deep-seated reverence for self-made opportunity. In the archetypal Horatio Alger rags-to-riches American success story, a person triumphs against all odds.

William Fargo, a poor farm boy, becomes a messenger to earn money for...