OK, Bernie, I give up.
I have looked at three presidential hopefuls for 2016: 1) Elizabeth Warren; 2) Martin O’Malley; and 3) Bernie Sanders (Hillary is right out for obvious reasons if you research fracking, TPP, Wall Street coziness and the Iraq War Resolution for starters). The first three potential candidates are acceptable to me even though each one has warts (as does every politician I have ever studied).
Elizabeth Warren is not running and I do not believe the American electorate is sophisticated enough to respond to a draft movement. Martin O’Malley is running and has the potential to be a great president. I gravitated toward him a couple of months ago and considered supporting him for the long haul, but his decision to wait to declare at the end of May was a strategic blunder. Bernie Sanders has gained momentum since entering the race and is starting to garner some positive press.
Initially I shied away from Bernie because I believed in the political “expert” perspective: Sanders cannot win the nomination and even if he could, he couldn’t win the general election. Here is my list of original reasons for rejection and my current thinking:
1) He’s old;
2) He’s funny looking and has a funny accent;
3) He’s Jewish;
4) He’s not the right physical type for the TV age; and
5) His socialist ideas are too radical.
Bernie is 73 years old, so he’s no spring chicken. Reagan was 69 when he first ran. Bernie is much more vigorous than Reagan and in terms of gerontological progress, the age of 74 today is perhaps relatively younger than 69 in 1980, when Reagan was running.
Bernie sounds and looks funny to many people I suppose, but I don’t think that is a show stopper for being taken seriously. Ross Perot sounded and looked much funnier than Bernie, but until Perot started acting crazy in the 1992 campaign, it seemed likely that he would win the election (he was ahead in the polls until his meltdown).
He is Jewish, but after a black president and viable women candidates, is this a big deal? I don’t think so.
In anthropological terms, Bernie may be what’s called an endomorph. He doesn’t look like the mesomorphs commonly elected (e.g. Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama). However George W. Bush is a little short by presidential standards, and also see the comments above about Ross Perot.
So it all comes down to his “radical” political beliefs. Bernie is a self-described social democrat, favoring the policies of Scandanavian countries. What’s radical about it is that it is largely the way American policies were headed before Ronald Reagan. Northern Europe provides college education for whoever wants it, without any cost. Everyone is guaranteed adequate food, clothing and shelter. Medical care is free. They can do this because they do not try to police the world and the rich and corporations are required to pay their fair share.
Except for health care, America did most of this before Reagan and still had enough wealth left over to engage in a very expensive cold war. Scandanavian health care costs less than half per capita compared to American health care. They insure everybody, while we have tens of thousands who die every year because of a lack of health care. His radical idea is to tax the rich and return to the values which gave America the largest, most robust middle class in the world.
Bernie’s other radical idea is that he believes in science. Scientists tell us climate change is our greatest threat and we need to get serious about it.
Bernie is gaining momentum because he is telling the truth and people are listening to him, another old-fashioned, radical idea. They are not reacting to his “image.” He walks the talk. He has fought his whole life for the 99%. Because of Reagan and the morons who have followed him, wealth inequality is at its worst level in history, rivaled only by the end of the Gilded Age. Americans have become “radical” because they have been layed off, pensions lost, homes foreclosed and no way to send kids to college. Meanwhile bankers not only don’t go to prison, their profits are bigger than ever. The American people have had enough and so have I. OK, Bernie, that’s it. I’m in.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Check your DU PM! 
all of this, except for healthcare prior to Doomsday and Dutch, Jan. 20, 1981, a day we will never forget. TJ's proudest accomplishment was founder of the public University of Virginia. Land grant colleges in America were fostered by President Lincoln. No one was indentured for basic college education until Reagan, as our collective institutional memory recollects.
Is because Jr. fucked up so incredibly badly and was so inept at nearly everything he tried, that the Electorate basically just said 'you know what fuck it, the smart black guy can't possibly make this worse, let him have his shot and see if he can do something with this trainwreck of a national agenda were in now.'
And if Bernie wins the White House and this country moves back toward a New-Deal-like economic and social agenda and the Morans in the Tea Party weep for the decline and death of 'murica, THAT WILL BE BUSH'S FAULT TOO, and they will have no choice but to finally admit it.
Their political pain will be exqusite, and their tears will be a FINE delicacy.
(Can we have a 'Republican Tears' smiley, because that would be awesome.)
--imm
Education is only incidental to the process. 
Also I wouldn't confuse education with job training, except that real education is training for jobs that don't exist yet. 
--imm
Great step-by-step evaluation. 
Ed Shultz encapsulated it very nicely when he stated Bernie brings "clarity" to the discussion. It's not any one vote or any one issue, but when all put together they demonstrate outstanding judgment in analyzing data. Bernie is simply on the right side when all is said and done. We can trust him. 
Thank gawd for large favors! Matzel tov!
Bernie Sanders Group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1280
I guess I took Elizabeth Warren at her word from the beginning that she wasn't running. That put me in a funk, especially watching her fiery speeches. I ruled out Bernie until he began talking about taking the temperature of the electorate. He is exactly the right person for this time in our history...I believe in my heart he is capable of righting many simmering wrongs. I'm happy you are onboard, too.
I think a lot of people are thinking the same thing: my views are closest to Sanders, but he can't win, for the very same reasons. If Bernie can do well in the early caucuses, prove he can win, we might see a very interesting race.
You might like this bumper sticker that shows the campaign knows this too:
People are waking up & realize that "politics as usual" isn't working.
Purchase here: http://www.redbubble.com/people/jrstees/works/14122148-bernie-sanders-for-president-hair?grid_pos=1&p=t-shirt
doesn't like Hollywood Jews because they are in love with awards.
think she'd be great for vice president 
oh and she's smart as fuck. "harvard"
Someday if she doesn't run eventually it'll be Natalie Portman ???? The Actress??? (ie Reagan) and BTTF turning 30 yrs old ack I'M OLD faint...
My cousin because her Mother is Jewish is well Jewish. Her dad my blood uncle is not. ie if your mother is Jewish your Jewish doesn't work the same with with males I don't understand that part and I went to my cousins wedding to a Catholic Hispanic born in Mexico so.... ignoring my tea party dad and brother fairly deversified and really don't care about what religion people are. Even Muslim. Yes because I can't have a proper discussion with blacks asians etc we are all a bit racist. (ahem Hispanics Latino etc) have a discussion with family members of different races on a candid basis and some of this racism will work it's way out of our words. Like Democrats bouncing their mouth with their hand. Indian. Native American I'm a drop Native American. Some say that makes me a Native American (some tribes say this.) If I have Indian blood flowing through my veins I'm Native American. True I love Native American stories. Oddly I played I can't spell this right 1. because it's racist and 2. I really don't know) Engin Joe Ingin Joe in the Huckleberry Finn Novel where he's trapped in a cave to die. Think had I known I was a drop Indian I might have had issues but hey it was just an Operetta. and it's best to keep such plays in action with a disclaimer . ie we forget the past we are doomed to repeat it. Right now I don't trust Hillary I consider her to be a Conservative. Who for sure is in bed with Big Oil. As many of her staff from secretary of state went to work for the XL Pipeline X_X TransAmericaFucks broke treaty and ran their trucks thru Native American land a few years ago. She'll never get my vote. ie I will not unlike Republicans break my principals for any party. Except of course my cousin. The principle back then was I was changing my beliefs around illegals. They officially married in June 2011 with a judge. The public wedding was August 2011. What do I take from that? Wedding was in August and the Visa expired before that. He plans to be in law. So he's in law school. Who's paying for this. I'm told my uncle (via my dad, who I can't really trust as a news source) do I agree with this method No. people from Mexico used to be heavily Republican. For Decades. This is a principle I broke to go up for their wedding. I went for my cousin. And as no other Bartholomews were going. Because as dad said the Hispanics would (I quote) outnumber the whites, he did not go. Guess what. The White Jews (my cousin as I said is Jewish) showed up in droves. Massively so. The Hispanics were in a small corner and hard to find. Packed. The Kramers were the biggest crowd there. Table my brother and I sat at (he would not go now) was 2 parents exe's he was Jewish. I got along great with a cousin in laws mother and the cousin in law. Probably why we were put at that table. So you ask me would I vote for someone who wants to be President who really isn't Openly Jewish? I give you this story. Utterly embarrassed the crap out of my tea party dad who for whatever reason is now Pro Israel X_X Which of course makes no sense. Course my favourite part. He said it wouldn't last a year. (which was the reason he told his brother not to send wedding invitations to me let alone my brother) Grrrrrrr That was not his choice it must be mine.) they were sent I went. We had a great time. And they are still married. think officially 4 yrs now almost more than a year and they've been in just about every state. Hello Hispanic in Idaho anyone?? 
oh wait Hispanic and a Jew in Idaho Go Bernie
I'm pretty sure that disqualifies her as a "presidential hopeful".
See?
GREAT post. Go Bernie!
