Does Bernie Sanders actually want to be president? Alex Seitz-Wald

[Proserpina]

How do you like that for chutzpah?

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/19/does-bernie-sanders-actually-want-to-be-president.html

It's a cliché that after every presidential debate, campaign advisers head to the "spin room" to declare to reporters that "there was only one president on the stage tonight," and it was the candidate they work for. But at the NBC News/YouTube debate here Sunday night, Bernie Sanders won by sounding more revolutionary than presidential. That's no surprise for Sanders, who has adopted the posture of an outsider insurgent for his entire career and made "political revolution" a slogan of his 2016 presidential campaign.

But with the possibility that he could make it to the White House no longer unfathomable, does Bernie Sanders actually want to be president?

It's a seemingly stupid question to ask about a person who has worked themselves to the point of exhaustion every day for the past eight months to achieve that goal. But when Sanders got into the 2016 race with an announcement at a hastily arranged press conference behind the Capitol building in April, everyone assumed the answer was obviously "no."

While he denied it, of course, the world assumed that Sanders was there to influence the political conversation, raise issues important to his movement, and to push presumed nominee Hillary Clinton to the left. Many compared him to Ron Paul, the libertarian Republican who ran for president twice — with no hope of winning — on a message of revolution. That analysis served fine for most the campaign.

But something changed when the calendar turned to 2016: For the first time, if you squint hard enough, you can see Bernie Sanders putting his right hand on the Torah as Chief Justice John Roberts administers the oath of office on the steps of the Capitol in a year's time...


read on, there's more, and it gets worse

[Proserpina]

1. I think they ask this question because they are tired of the answers they get to:

"Do you really want Bernie for President?" always being YES. They are hoping for a NO, somewhere, and digging frantically.

[awake]

2. Bernie wants to do the job of president while Hillary wants the title of

the 1st woman president. She is not presenting any new ideas, just keep the status quo of the 3rd term... Bernie wants to build on what Obama started and take the next step, Bernie knows it will take changing Congress to make the nessary changes but he is sharing a goal of were we can go. Bernie is also asking us to not just vote for him he is asking us to get involved and become the change and helping make it happen while I feel that Hillary just wants us to trust her and give her the power, Bernie wants the people to have the power.

[sarge43]

3. I like that snide "....his right hand on the Torah..."

Is that an attempt to stir up the mouth breathers? "Hey that there Sanders don't believe in the bible! He somekinda godless commie!?"
Every president has put his hand on the Torah - the first five books of the Old Testament.

Bernie has them sweating razor blades.

[Eric J in MN]

4. Yes, American Jews have the word "Bible."

Alex Seitz-Wald's use of the word "Torah" is to make Sanders' seem different than most readers.

[sarge43]

5. A rather snotty dog whistle n/t

[catnhatnh]

6. Love This:

"Sanders campaign defends the health care plan by saying it should be viewed more as a vision statement than ready-to-introduce legislation, and notes that Clinton has not released fully detailed plans either for a number of her policies.

As Clinton could tell Sanders, details are messy and limiting and don't exactly fire up the base. But "details matter," as Clinton is now fond of saying"

So why does Clinton get a pass in the piece. I believe you are supposed to draw contrasts so where are Clinton's plans and numbers for "building on Obamacare"?

Right-it's a bullshit hit piece.