Talk of "litmus tests" is always stupid. "We" all care about things differently, have different priorities. Pretty sure the "litmus test" of "not voting for a democratic candidate who wants to put Muslims in internment camps" would be seen as a reasonable "litmus test" by most democratic thought leaders. I hope so, anyway. People being pushed as "rising stars" or whatever (likely presidential candidates) are going to have some scrutiny of their records because that's how things work. Double standards people hold due to race or gender are worth investigating, but they don't change the record.
As for the foreclosure crisis, as David says, they're basically all bad. The foreclosure crisis (and its related mortgage fraud) was an economic, legal, and moral injustice, and also political malpractice. "I feel your pain" was not something that any people victimized by it heard from politicians. Sure there were some members of Congress who tried, and really the fault of this is almost entirely on Barack Obama, but basically they were (and still are) almost all bad on this issue. Some of us think it's an important issue! Several million people, at least!
That they're all bad doesn't get anybody off the hook. If you're thinking about running for president, it's fair that people ask you to be better. You're asking to be president! You're claiming you are better. I'll almost certainly pull the 'D' lever when the time comes, but not everybody will. Not everybody votes...have you noticed?
