Were the last two presidential elections "more about biography than about a view of government or a vision of the future for this country"?

That's what Representative Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, says, referring to the current efforts of Democrats to define the party's vision:

"The conversations we're having now are essential," in part, he argued, because the last two presidential elections "were more about biography than about a view of government or a vision of the future for this country."

I don't remember the last two elections being "about biography." Maybe in the last election, beginning with the Democratic Convention, the Democrat's side of the campaign was "about biography." Really, what is Emanuel talking about?