Where can Bernie improve for the next debate?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

I think the one area I hope he improves on is his presentation on his foreign policy stands. He is so incredibly on target with his articulation of his domestic policies -- I think he now needs to bring that clarity and verbal ease to the international issues.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[ZM90]

1. I don't know about Berie.

This is the Bernie Sanders group. I didn't know Berie was running .

[stone space]

2. He can evolve a bit faster on guns. I'd rather see him leading than following.

It is good to see him being pulled to the left on this, though.

[WDIM]

3. Definately foreign policy. nt

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

4. I want him to specifically bring up the Campaign Zero list of issues

and step through them showing how he plans to address them. He and O'Malley are pretty similar there, but if he gets to it first, it leaves Clinton scrambling to be another 'me too'.

[99th_Monkey]

5. His closing statement needs to "graciously capture the moment" more, kind of like O'Malley did

rather than re-stating his campaign stump speech talking points, that he's already
said numerous times.

[Scootaloo]

6. Two things.

1) he was a bit windbag-ish. It's stupid, but the media only cares what you can say in five seconds or less. he needs to come up with a little more "snap."

2) On a similar note, he needs a little variety in his message. He doesn't need to change what he's saying, he just needs to tinker with the proportions a little. Absolutely, the 0.5% is running the country into the ground. It's #1 priority. But I'm getting why there are people who think it's all he cares about - I know it's not, we all do. He needs to flex some of those other issues he's strong on, give them center stage for a debate or two.

[MissDeeds]

8. Yes, he does tend to speak in paragraphs

It would help if he'd come up with a few "sound bites" to include in his comments. The remark about "...your damn emails" was great and got a lot of play.

Sadly, it's the quips that get air time.

[RichVRichV]

10. I doubt he'll ever change that.

Bernie is all about the substance not the style. Always has been. It's simultaneously one of his greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses as a candidate. It's what gives him his appeal as an honest no nonsense person. But it also makes him overly focused and long winded at times. I think a small part of why Bernie appeals so much to me is his temperament and mindset match so closely to mine. I hate wasting time on superficial nonsense.


Hillary is the opposite as a campaigner. She can dance around any issue without giving a real answer and look good doing it. The strategy works because the media rarely calls her on the lack of substance. Fortunately social media is making it harder and harder to get away with this strategy.

[eridani]

9. Needs much greater succinctness on guns

Clearer statements on foreign policy too--esp about how expensive imperialism is.

[mimi85]

11. I totally agree - he needs to be much clearer on these two subjects.

[eridani]

14. I'd suggest memorizing the phrase "poinson pill" for talking about complex legislation.

I voted against it, even though it had some good provisions, because it had a poison pill that ruined the whole thing.

[senz]

7. He should smile more often.

Bernie is hands down the best person running, but he is unfortunately afflicted with rbf. It makes him look grumpy -- which he is not.

[mimi85]

12. This also - kept thinking the same thing last night.

[TBF]

13. Foreign Policy & talk about Unions

and class DIRECTLY - not this "middle class" BS.

[senz]

15. There are a couple of reasons to talk about "middle class"

rather than the poor or social class generally. One is political -- most Americans consider themselves middle class or lower middle class, so it's a broadly inclusive term. If you care about the middle class, you pretty much care about everyone. It's almost a code word. The other is economic -- societies with a large middle class, as opposed to a rich/poor divide, tend to be stable with happier people, less crime and greater citizen participation. In gutting the middle class, rightwingers have weakened America. So we really do need to build up a strong, healthy middle class, and to do that, the government should actively favor average working Americans over the very rich via trade laws that encourage domestic manufacturing, unions, affordable education, living wage, etc.

Back in the 1960s when we had a large, flourishing middle class, liberal politicians talked about helping the poor. Bernie does mention the poor, but he keeps it within the context of building up the middle class. Trickle-down economics and conservative talk radio changed the public understanding of the poor from "victims" to "lazy takers" or even "losers."

[TBF]

16. But do we even have a middle class?

I don't think we do - unless "middle class" is truly the people making $8/hr ... it's gone otherwise. We now have very wealthy (and the folks that service them directly -VPs, medical, legal) and poor. Maybe people like to think of themselves as more well off than they are. It's more of that "American dream" myth and isn't happening in real life. The jobs that created the middle class lifestyle (which is what people really aspire to) are long gone.

[Enthusiast]

17. I like where Bernie is on foreign policy. I like it when he emphasizes that Saudi Arabia should

shoulder the burden of a ground war. I think that will resonate with the American people.

[winter is coming]

19. +1.

We're not making things better for the people in the Middle East. We're not making things better for us. So why do we go on pouring money and lives down a rathole?

[winter is coming]

18. He should buy a rubber Hillary mask.

Halloween is coming up; there must be some available.