Bernie Sanders' 'socialism' may have mainstream appeal

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3. Publicly funded elections.

Instead of seeing the spectacle of candidates for president and Congress taking turns begging for money at gatherings of billionaires and corporate lobbyists, public funding for campaigns might encourage politicians to pay attention to those of us who don't have the ability to buy influence in our government. This feels vaguely un-American only because it has been so long since money did not rule American politics. . .

Government-run health care. Yup, this one really is socialism. It's what they have in hellish commie wastelands like Germany, Denmark, Japan, Canada and the rest of the industrialized world. It's also what Americans over the age of 64 have. We call it Medicare.

Mr. Sanders is never going to be president. Most voters are not ready to approve his full program. Still, he will have done this country a great service if, through his blunt talk and grandfatherly presence, he gets more citizens to stop being distracted by scare stories and political labels and to start considering ideas on their merits. A 40-hour work week, a minimum wage and restrictions on child labor were once thought of as subversive, socialist doctrines, but they have turned out to be pretty good ideas for Americans -- except maybe for the billionaires.