Before I forget: Read Ezra Klein on the ways in which he thinks the press is biased for and against Bernie Sanders.
Anyway, for what little anyone may care, I am warming to the idea of Bernie Sanders as the next president of the United States…not that I was ever against that. I'm still unconvinced he can beat Hillary Clinton for the nomination but I used to not have a preference and now I'm starting to have one, modest though it may be. This may sound silly but while I think Clinton and Sanders would both be fine presidents, I could personally get more excited about Sanders as the nominee.
Then again, I'm wary of these polls that say he'd do a better job than she would of defeating Trump or Cruz. I can't believe his personal approval rating wouldn't take a deep nosedive if he secured the nomination and Republicans started in with the ads calling him a Communist with a congenital contempt for the American Way of Life who'd raise your taxes, take away your property and your freedoms, etc.
Regarding his chance to getting the nomination: He did a surprise cameo on Stephen Colbert's show last Friday night and bragged how well he and his team have been doing winning state caucuses. That's true — he has been doing better than Clinton in states that hold caucuses. But unmentioned was that there aren't many caucuses left and that the polls show her with big leads in most of the remaining states. I wish this were not so and if he does lose the nomination, I hope it's not by so wide a margin that people say it proves something about being "too liberal" even for Democrats, which would mean really "too liberal" for this country.
While we're talking Bernie, here's a microscopic, unimportant thing that made me like Senator Sanders a bit more. I noticed on Colbert — and you may already have noticed this — that he wasn't wearing an American flag lapel pin. He apparently never does.
Most folks seeking the presidency do, at least most of the time, lest they open themselves to abuse from people with very low I.Q.s who think that to not wear one means you hate your country, wish it would fall to the Commies, pray the terrorists win, etc. Apparently, if those are your goals, it is impossible for you to mask them by pinning on a little $2.95 replica of Old Glory.
Since Socialist Sanders is a bit more vulnerable to such attacks than your average presidential aspirant, you'd think he'd make the teensy gesture of slapping one on just to shut off that one line of attack. Even Barack Obama did that at times but as you can see, Sanders has instead a gold, round lapel pin. I looked at a number of recent photos online of him and he always seemed to have it on. What the heck is it? A bit of Googling gave me the answer: It's the badge which identifies him as a U.S. Senator to security when he enters the Capitol building in Washington.
I'm not sure I can explain why but that feels more genuine than any politician making the decision — probably in consultation with handlers — to wear a flag pin. It even makes me feel like Bernie never gave a thought to what adornment on his lapel might help his candidacy…and that he only owns the one suit.