For one, for the courage to take political risks to do what he felt was right. The South split and the electoral votes went to the Dixiecrat. Plus without a doubt Truman didn't but business over the people. His concerns were "justice not oil" -- probably the last President to ever say that. He was the last one to live out his life with financial difficulties living off just his Army Pension since at-the-time only House members received a pension for the service & he turned down endorsements and offers because of the integrity of the office.
On economic matters he knew what he was talking about. From the 1949 State of the Union
<snip>
In this society, we are conservative about the values and principles which we cherish; but we are forward-looking in protecting those values and principles and in extending their benefits. We have rejected the discredited theory that the fortunes of the Nation should be in the hands of a privileged few. We have abandoned the "trickledown" concept of national prosperity. Instead, we believe that our economic system should rest on a democratic foundation and that wealth should be created for the benefit of all.
The recent election shows that the people of the United States are in favor of this kind of society and want to go on improving it.
The American people have decided that poverty is just as wasteful and just as unnecessary as preventable disease. We have pledged our common resources to help one another in the hazards and struggles of individual life. We believe that no unfair prejudice or artificial distinction should bar any citizen of the United States of America from an education, or from good health, or from a job that he is capable of performing.
The attainment of this kind of society demands the best efforts of every citizen in every walk of life, and it imposes increasing responsibilities on the Government.
The Government must work with industry, labor, and the farmers in keeping our economy running at full speed. The Government must see that every American has a chance to obtain his fair share of our increasing abundance. These responsibilities go hand in hand.
We cannot maintain prosperity unless we have a fair distribution of opportunity and a widespread consumption of the products of our factories and farms.
Our Government has undertaken to meet these responsibilities.
We have ,made tremendous public investments in highways, hydroelectric power projects, soil conservation, and reclamation. We have established a system of social security. We have enacted laws protecting the rights and the welfare of our working people and the income of our farmers. These Federal policies have paid for themselves many times over. They have strengthened the material foundations of our democratic ideals. Without them, our present prosperity would be impossible.
Reinforced by these policies, our private enterprise system has reached new heights of production. Since the boom year of 1929, while our population has increased by only 20 percent, our agricultural production has increased by 45 percent, and our industrial production has increased by 75 percent. We are turning out far more goods and more wealth per worker than we have ever done before.
This progress has confounded the gloomy prophets--at home and abroad who predicted the downfall of American capitalism. The people of the United States, going their own way, confident in their own powers, have achieved the greatest prosperity the world has even seen.
But, great as our progress has been, we still have a long way to go.
As we look around the country, many of our shortcomings stand out in bold relief.
We are suffering from excessively high prices.
Our production is still not large enough to satisfy our demands.
Our minimum wages are far too low.
Small business is losing ground to growing monopoly.
Our farmers still face an uncertain future. And too many of them lack the benefits of our modern civilization.
Some of our natural resources are still being wasted.
We are acutely short of electric power, although the means for developing such power are abundant.
Five million families are still living in slums and firetraps. Three million families share their homes with others.
Our health is far behind the progress of medical science. Proper medical care is so expensive that it is out of the reach of the great majority of our citizens.
Our schools, in many localities, are utterly inadequate.
Our democratic ideals are often thwarted by prejudice and intolerance.
Each of these shortcomings is also an opportunity-an opportunity for the Congress and the President to work for the good of the people.
Our first great opportunity is to protect our economy against the evils of "boom and bust."
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=13293
Know Joe Biden does strike someone, at-times, who accidentally tells the truth but I don't think Bernie Sanders has an honesty problem. Joe Biden won't have an untrustworthy problem Hillary Clinton will have nor will Bernie Sanders and he won't have the untrustworthy problem any of the Republicans have.
I actually give Bernie Sanders a better chance of winning the general election, one for inspiring turnout among the young & poor (those who poll with a favorable opinion of "socialism"
and just the electoral math itself. The corporate media will have to dig & dig & dig to find something to exploit, where he is at his best is when he's given an opportunity to speak and especially debate. I've been saying this for months. On a national ticket they won't have a choice but to let him speak but whatever they use Bernie Sanders is very good at not taking the bait or he would have been dragged into discussing Hillary Clinton's personality (Is she as committed to this cause as you are) just by making clear where he stands.
Hillary Clinton -- I don't need to go through and make a list of what potentially could bring her down
In any case if Biden were to enter he'd be my #2 choice after Bernie Sanders (O'Malley is too much a phony, at-least Hillary Clinton seems genuine in cases where she is going from "foolish anti-wall street rhetoric" to "taking on big business" during her campaign rally/book-tour during the midterms.
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