Perhaps it is all wishful thinking - But if Bernie Sanders did run for President in 2016 - would you

[Douglas Carpenter]

54. I only know that he said that he has not ruled it out. I don't know if he would seriously

contemplate a run or not. I have serious doubt of that. I kind of doubt that Sen. Warren would run either. But based on what Sen. Sanders has said - I have to think it is possible. Sen. Sanders has a remarkable ability to keep the focus on bread and butter issues that strikes a chord with the vast majority of ordinary Americans. I do think he would have a fair possibility of winning some primaries and shaking up the status quo. If he were to win enough primaries - then that does put him in the positions of being a viable candidate for the nomination. But at the very least his economic message could extend the range of debate. Anyone who even early in the 2008 election process thought Barack Obama was some kind of great leftwing hope - were truly not paying attention to either his actual words, his actual positions or his actual record. Sen. Sanders is a bona fide Social Democrat and it is a crime that the American body politic does not have within its mainstream of debate the social-democratic perspective. It would be extremely valuable for the future of the Democratic Party, the future of the country and the future of the world to see the social democratic perspective mainstreamed within American electoral politics,