Jane Sanders recalls moment she became convinced Bernie should run

[Divernan]

8. Interesting comment following the 2nd OP's link:

"2 NYT pieces further demonstrate why he's running (7+ / 0-)article:

Mrs. Clinton, who wore a blue gingham blouse, talked to reporters on Saturday alongside Tom Harkin, a popular former senator from the state who recently endorsed Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy. (Mrs. Clinton said she was “deeply honored” by Mr. Harkin’s support. He stayed neutral in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.)

A brown cow mooed behind Mrs. Clinton as she answered questions about the private email server she used as secretary of state and criticized Mr. Bush, who attended the fair on Friday, about his views on the Iraq war and the rise of the Islamic State. Then, she and a dozen Secret Service agents and staff members headed to get a pork chop on a stick.

. . .But others seemed frustrated that they could not get close to the former first lady, who is trying to connect on an intimate level with Iowans who shunned her last presidential campaign. “I couldn’t hear a darn word she said,” one woman grumbled.

Soon after Mrs. Clinton left the fair for Martha’s Vineyard to attend the 80th birthday party of Vernon E. Jordan Jr., a close friend and confidant of the Clintons.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/us/politics/excess-in-iowa-90-a-butter-cow-and-rides-on-donald-trumps-helicopter.html?ref=politics&_r=1 *

And this article, http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/08/15/obama-power-foursome-hits-links-before-vernon-jordan-soiree/

President Obama’s golf habit on Martha’s Vineyard is so frequent that locals shrug it off. But there was nothing routine about his Saturday foursome, which included former President Bill Clinton, the civil rights activist Vernon E. Jordan Jr. and Ron Kirk, America’s former trade representative.

The high-profile golf partners were all slated to attend Mr. Jordan’s 80th birthday party Saturday night at the Farm Neck Golf Club. But they arrived early to get in a round of golf first. Mr. Jordan, a towering figure in the Democratic Party, was a top adviser to Mr. Clinton and is close to Mr. Obama, too.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is running to replace Mr. Obama in the Oval Office, was also expected to attend the party on Saturday night, officials said.

As per George Carlin in his epic final public riff, it's a big club, and you ain't in it. Sanders (thankfully) isn't in the big club, either.

While I never aspired to crashing any gates, I have a very hard time supporting candidates who are maintaining gates that are bigger and sturdier now than they were when I joined this site about a decade ago. Vernon Jordan has been an Akin Gump lobbyist since 1982. His presence as a towering figure in the party shows how far we are from real reform. I have no idea whether the ongoing Sanders surge can do much to induce real reform, but I'd sure as hell like to try."