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WAPO: Is Bernie Sanders really happening? [View all]
Sanders was hard to miss: Suffering from a cold through much of the trial, he coughed and sneezed, blew his nose, cleared his throat, breathed heavily, puffed out his cheeks, gulped water and sucked on candies.
But beyond the upper-respiratory symptoms, I could see why Sanders alternately enthralls and alarms Democrats: He’s so unconventional a candidate that he’s downright bizarre.
Other senators hobnobbed. Sanders kept to himself, accepting a primary-day handshake or a pat on the back from a few colleagues but conversing with no one. When his neighbor, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), suffered a coughing fit, he was oblivious, finally noticing her struggle long after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) had attended to her.
Other senators sat at their desks, taking notes, reading or watching. Sanders tilted back in his chair, balanced on two of its legs, his wild white hair nearly in the water glass of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). Sanders slouched in his seat, with his blue blazer bunched at his shoulders and his gray flannel trousers riding up above his belly button, leading him to tug frequently at lapels and waistband. A wad of crumpled tissues spilled from his hip pocket.
......................................................................................
I’m making peace with the possibility. If Democratic primary voters, in their wisdom, decide that a 78-year-old curmudgeon who recently suffered a heart attack is their best candidate, that’s still worlds better than Trump. Maybe the old rules don’t apply in the Trump era; maybe Bernie’s passionate youth army can carry him over the finish line, and the voter in the middle won’t matter. Sanders is nothing if not authentic.
But at a time when so many crave a return to normalcy, Sanders is, other than Trump, about as abnormal a candidate as there is. Hillary Clinton’s claim that “nobody likes” Sanders isn’t far off. He has no endorsements from Senate colleagues other than fellow Vermonter Patrick Leahy. Of the 100 senators on the floor, he is, by conventional standards, the least “presidential” in the room.
But beyond the upper-respiratory symptoms, I could see why Sanders alternately enthralls and alarms Democrats: He’s so unconventional a candidate that he’s downright bizarre.
Other senators hobnobbed. Sanders kept to himself, accepting a primary-day handshake or a pat on the back from a few colleagues but conversing with no one. When his neighbor, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), suffered a coughing fit, he was oblivious, finally noticing her struggle long after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) had attended to her.
Other senators sat at their desks, taking notes, reading or watching. Sanders tilted back in his chair, balanced on two of its legs, his wild white hair nearly in the water glass of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). Sanders slouched in his seat, with his blue blazer bunched at his shoulders and his gray flannel trousers riding up above his belly button, leading him to tug frequently at lapels and waistband. A wad of crumpled tissues spilled from his hip pocket.
......................................................................................
I’m making peace with the possibility. If Democratic primary voters, in their wisdom, decide that a 78-year-old curmudgeon who recently suffered a heart attack is their best candidate, that’s still worlds better than Trump. Maybe the old rules don’t apply in the Trump era; maybe Bernie’s passionate youth army can carry him over the finish line, and the voter in the middle won’t matter. Sanders is nothing if not authentic.
But at a time when so many crave a return to normalcy, Sanders is, other than Trump, about as abnormal a candidate as there is. Hillary Clinton’s claim that “nobody likes” Sanders isn’t far off. He has no endorsements from Senate colleagues other than fellow Vermonter Patrick Leahy. Of the 100 senators on the floor, he is, by conventional standards, the least “presidential” in the room.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/03/is-bernie-sanders-really-happening/
If I were to vote in a presidentialprimary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
161 replies
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