Is "changing the conversation" a good reason to run for President?

When I first heard that Marianne Williamson was running for president to change the conversation, I applauded.  That made sense to me.  In sharp contrast to even the most engaging new voices, as a new thought leader and writer Marianne Williamson seemed poised to talk about the issues and our times in such a way that it might alter the parameters of the possible.

Facing the realities of 18 candidates for the Democratic nomination for President who have met the high threshold of qualifying for the debates (including Williamson), I begin to wonder whether it is possible to "change the conversation" in that crowded forum.  

Bernie Sanders, whom Williamson supported in 2016 for president, has already changed the conversation and is continuing to do so.  By focussing on what would make the biggest differences in working peoples' lives, raise in a minimum wage to $15 an hour, Medicare for All, universal public college, regardless of whether it is considered practical or politically expedient to do so, he gives us a way to create a world that works for everyone.  Most other candidates have taken up his policy positions (or are reacting against them).

Williamson has a different charge, it seems.  She sees America as soul sick, and she is here to facilitate a healing.  I don't disagree.  I DO think we are soul sick.  I think living in one of the richest countries on earth which chooses to allow millions to live without adequate food, shelter or access to basic health care takes an unimaginable emotional and spiritual toll on us as a people.  Even those of us who are financially secure.  It depresses us.  It scares us.  It demoralizes us.  It saps the very ingenuity and creativity that has made us great as a nation.  

Here's a fresh example of Marianne Williamson's attempt to change the conversation:

The days of the tough cowboy leading us into reckless war and then being lauded for his strength are over. What must emerge now is an age of proactive peacebuilding, where we fortify the factors statistically proven to increase peace and reduce conflict. #wagepeace

— Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) May 17, 2019

I sort of see America as a body politic is trapped in a flight or fight pattern where it struggling to survive so it can't even think about thriving.   When my own body is in flight or fight, I cannot learn.  I cannot remember.  I cannot trust or believe.  I can only run, scramble and secure my own borders.

It's like we have a tangled hierarchy here where cause and effect is jumbled.  Do we need a soul healing to transition to "rest and repair" so that we can see that we are all one nation and we can collectively work to pay ourselves a living wage which allows for safe housing, food and healthcare? Or do we need a living wage, Medicare for All and universal public college so that we can stop long enough to "rest and repair?"  The answer is yes.  

Do we need to change the conversation in order to focus on what really matters? Or do we need to focus on what really matters to change the conversation? The answer is yes.

What else is possible?  How does it get even better than this?