As Maya Angelou said, " When someone shows you who they believe them". We can all see that Bernie is someone who cares about other's lives. Along the way to making the country better could he be a little more warm & fuzzy? Sure. But I think most people would take Bernie's irascible personality of sincerity and honesty over a charming, do-nothing phony, any day. Go Bernie!
40
Interesting how Bernie is seen as authentic and genuine. Re-read this article - replace the name "Bernie" with "Bernadette"- and then tell me whether we'd call this candidate "charming." Now tell me again how sexism isn't a factor in this leadership race
52
So “man of the people,” Senator Green New Deal uses “the people’s money” to fly private like a billionaire (because he doesn’t like being around people), is a prima donna when he travels and with his employees, has few lifelong friends, and even fewer professional confidants. He is just a blazing hypocrite, more suited to Hollywood than the Presidency. As an aside, like many of us who travel from Salt Lake, one can typically see Senator Romney handling his own bags heading through security for his commercial flight. How ironic.
33
Ugh, if you want to read a textbook case of gendered double-standards, here it is. He’s clearly a selfish,unpleasant egotist, but of course it is framed as “quirky & hard-driving.”
It’s the birthday thing that gets me. It’s bad enough he disdains the small gestures that would mean so much for people who work so hard for him, but is obvious disgust for “weak” (read ‘feminine’) emotional labor just shows who he is. I can’t wait for him to finally be escorted off the public stage.
40
Wow, why are we only hearing about Bernie’s “idiosyncrasies” now, when it’s a two man race? Angry outbursts, difficult boss: Amy Klobuchar was raked over the coals for what sounds like a fraction of the behavior Bernie displays on a regular basis.
51
yah. When you’re President - you’re president of the entire country.
I find his “personality” to be grating. And the reason he’s done squat in 30 years.
So he’s difficult in the office?
You didn’t give Amy a pass on that.
NOPE NOPE NOPE.
35
Bernie’s got a vision. Credibility on his plan is questionable.
Biden has no vision for change. No plan needed.
Either are better than Trump, with a corrupt vision and plan.
I miss Warren.
31
Bernie's personality, while not irrelevent, is pretty much what I would expect. I met the man once at a political event in 2014, and he was gruff and uninterested in chatting. When he delivered his talk, he did not address the topic at hand (which was, ironically "Supporting Democratic women candidates for local offices") and instead gave what was to become his stump speech, then took off. There is a lot of overlap between what Bernie believes America needs and what I believe, but that encounter with him, and a few articles like this - plus his sparse legislative record - have convinced me that if he ever became president it would be a disaster for Democrats. He would never be able to garner the support he'd need from both sides of the aisle to bring about the kind of sweeping change he promises, and he would leave behind an entire generation of new voters embittered and angry. I fear he's going to do that anyway, even in defeat.
43
Unlike the press, I never look for "schmooze" in a candidate. I couldn't care less about having a beer with one of them. It isn't celebrity I want; it is commitment to the common good.
So what if he likes to sleep in a cool room? Hotels are hothouses of dry, recirculated air. I hate them. I don't want to be near the ice machine. Who asks for that? Pretty petty complaint, like dissing Gore's brown suit.
A president should work hard. Sanders will not golf three days a week. Sanders realizes that few public figures focus on the well-being of the working class who walk a knife's edge daily to survive. Teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers all see the same and love Sanders for caring and bringing it to the fore.
Reporters and pundits in the media are too well paid. You identify with the wealthy and well-connected to the determent of ordinary people. We should want an everything-is-rosy gladhander who looses composure to calls voters names but has a big smile while he tries to cut Social Security?
Sanders personality is unimportant. His policies are what matter. Watch how the coronavirus affects a country without universal health care or how the earth is dying around us to see why we chose him.
Seriousness and commitment in the face of approaching disaster is the correct response.
27
Scribbling down his thoughts about what he going to say? Why? I could tell you what he's going to say, he's been saying the same thing for years. If only there was more action and less talking.
27
I believe Bernie is a good person, but this detailed look into his personality has confirmed my suspicion that 4 years of Bernie means 4 years of listening to another angry white man yelling about every issue. It is the anger I want to see gone from the national conversation.
26
Sanders has not explained why he swore in De Blasio at his 2nd inauguration, a clear endorsement. It detracted from Sanders progressive integrity. Sorry, I wouldn't vote for Sanders for the sole reason that if he won he would probably appoint De Blasio, this do nothing, hypocritical machine politician, to a cabinet position. Maybe HUD where our "fake" progressive mayor could continue his heartfelt commitment to "affordable" housing.
It was a major misstep for Sanders to endorse a mayor so universally disliked and disrespected.
3
Funny how his treatment of staff is just a kind of okay part of his grumpy persona. Amy Klobuchar was nonstop criticized for being a tough boss to some of her staff. Men can be as obnoxious as they want, it seems, while women, as usual, are held to a different standard.
Ditto about disclosure of plans and costs. Warren told how it could all work over time, while Bernie hasn't really told us anything about how his ideas could be executed. Don't bother holding his feet to the fire. Just make sure all the women are forced out of the race. Now he probably will be nudged out, too so we are left with the old moderate and the old crazy person. What a choice in the 21st century!
36
The way that people have reacted to this article is so strange to me. The die-hard Bernie fans found it insulting (?) and those who have always disliked him found that this confirms him to be "an awful person" "a disaster" and so on. I disagree with BOTH of those assessments. Bernie, thus far, hasn't been my first choice. I was a 100% Warren fan, and am now trying to decide, as pragmatically as possible, which candidate to support. Nothing in this article, to me, reflects badly on Sanders as a person or as a candidate. He's clearly very smart, very compassionate, and doesn't want to see people suffer in a wealthy country where so much of that suffering could be avoided. That is the mark of a man who loves people. Otherwise - he wouldn't care so much. So he doesn't dig small talk, isn't a "hugger", a gladhander or a "people person". Who cares? - He's clearly still a good man. Should he be the President? Is he the best person to beat Trump and actually get his progressive agenda off the ground? I still don't know the answer to that. But for god's sake - this article wasn't insulting! It's just who he is. Now - get off my lawn! take this soup back it's not hot enough! Turn down that racket! - and lets focus on what's really important and try not to let our biases get in the way of our brains.
23
What struck me most about this article, what clutched at my heart, were the references to Sanders loving his grandchildren, taking them on a tour of the hotel vending machines and kidding around with a friend's son. Bernie loves children and i wish we'd see more ads with him and his grandchildren, to remind us that he is fighting for the next generation.
31
Bernie deserves credit for bringing inequality to the attention of the American people. I voted for him in the 2016 primary, but I voted for Biden a few days ago - IMO the better of two septuagenarians. Both should have retired already.
This article confirms my imagination: I cannot visualize Bernie in the Oval Office, actually sitting still at the Resolute Desk and governing.
We have enough chaos in the White House now. I long for some peace and calmness.
Vote Blue No Matter Who.
21
It's not his personality that truly bothers me. He has leveraged the Democratic Party for his own purposes and accomplished very little. Unlike Elizabeth Warren, who I had supported, what can Bernie point to that he actually did to better our lives. Warren created the Consumer finance Protection Bureau, speaks specific data about what her proposals would cost and doesn't aggrandize her proposals as a revolution". I don't actually know what this country is truly ready for, but I will work for the kind of policies that have traction, meaning some degree of compromise that, pace Bernie followers, Bernie has not possessed. Yes - he voted against the Iraq war and thumps his chest over not having supported Nafta. The trade issue is one I would like to ;understand better - are we better off without global trade or is it a matter of how it is negotiated? Bye Elizabeth, Hello Joe.
23
I see Bernie Sanders as a committed moral and lifelong politician. He has great ideas that can help a vast portion of our populace.
Some of his policies can be decisive, and most are untenable in the real political world. His often says he can accomplish everything he promises, but only "if people want it". What that means is, "if people are willing to remove the obstacles for him" - including voting-out all opposing politicians.
Bernie's entire stance boils down to this: he will do everything for us, if we keep voting to remove obstacles in his path.
This is not a winning solution. It is patently unrealistic. Politics requires compromise, and he is unwilling to do so.
From this article I learned greatly about Bernie Sanders. I learned that he is not only unwilling to compromise with politicians, he is unable to. His personality lacks critical elements.
His personality is, as people cited in the article describe:
Loving of children
Loyal to only a few people he is close to
Not very social (with most adults)
Curt
A difficult boss
Thin record of accomplishments
Tolerated by peers, sometimes resented
Outbursts
Impatient
Curmudgeonly
Flexible ethics - he bypassed a building's security
Forces his way in, to peer into other people's homes
Idealistic
In his 30 yrs in Congress, he accomplished almost nothing of importance.
Bernie assumes he can out-debate trump, however trump will not debate anyone. So how will Bernie defeat trump?
He must show he can attack & weaken trump.
13
I've run out of patience, I'm afraid, with a demanding, insensitive, thin-skinned executive who can't roll with the punches or relate to other people on a human level. I've also had enough of someone whose world starts and ends in his own head. With Sanders, as with Trump, you have a person fueled on grievance and preconceived ideas - the grievances and ideas are just different, and in the case of Sanders, more legitimate and connected to reality. But neither have any real bandwidth to their experiences of life or range of interests. I've known people like Bernie - driven and serious, but lacking depth. They have few intellectual or artistic connections outside their narrow work silo. They are fine in small doses, but not presidential material. Were Sanders to win the election, I predict that his grating personality would quickly wear thin, especially as most of his promises have no pragmatic path to becoming law.
33
He's as inflexible and doggedly rigid in his thoughts as is the president. I cannot imagine any Congress, red or blue, working well with him to get his big plans instituted.
27
I am grateful that his one note speech and pushed awareness on issues important to me but he clearly does not have the temperament we need.
13
The writer clearly shows how infinitely better than Trump Bernie is as a person. He'd have to compromise for sure if elected and I'm sure he would. He knows as well as anyone that, once you're in, the art of the possible becomes the dominant principle.
9
"...Mr. Sanders doesn’t tend to take pushback personally, several former aides said."
In summation, Bernie doesn't expect anyone to take him personally, either. His purpose is crucial considering our predicament - climate crisis, gig economy, inaccessible healthcare, supreme wealth inequality.
He's correctly yelling "fire" when everyone else soft-pedals actual life threatening circumstances, so if he fails to enamor people then perhaps they need to reconsider their priorities. If we don't address the climate emergency then every other problem will be temporary.
23
Bernie has such an American story. It contrasts so sharply with Trump. The two are really the polar opposites. I'm so glad I voted for Bernie.
21
In terms of selecting a leader, Bernie's personality disqualifies him. His brings out the worst in his supporters.
This report on Bernie shows he is so passionate about his causes that he is willing to achieve it with any means. This explains why Bernie has permitted his paid staff and supporters engaging in smearing campaign and spreading misinformation.
The republicans want a small government, and so all they have to do is shutting things down. This can be done easily by the executive branch, as demonstrated by Trump. In contrast, Democrats want to build a more equitable society allowing all to thrive. Building is much harder than shutting things down. And it needs a lot more convincing and buy-in from all voters. This is why Democrats have to compromise to push their agenda, and why they are center-leaning incrementalists - they are not "sellouts" or "bought" as insulted by Bernie Bro's.
Bernie refuses to face this reality and he is rigid in his ideology. He may be able to become Dem nominee, or even win the presidency, but he will lose the down ballots and thus congressional majority to get anything done.
17
What stood out for me was the apparent lack of a wide range of interests, experiences and personal connections outside politics in Senator Sanders. Very different than the presidents that we generally consider 'great', like Presidents Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington, Adams - in fact, most of the original group of people who crafted the founding documents of this country. I find a wide range of interests and experience essential to a true grasp of human understanding. It is also a leading characteristic of President Obama and that tied into his ability to recognize that listening to people is an essential skill especially in a president. His singing 'Amazing Grace' at the memorial service for the 9 people murdered in the church was not a political response - although the development of the ACA earlier is a manifestation of that same grasp of the necessity of peoples' urgent needs.
Compassion and emotional connections are not forged through political positions. With F.D.R. empathy grew at Warm Springs; the experience of polio and lifelong handicap that brought him into contact with the many types of people also receiving therapy there. Reading this article was revealing, because many of those things that I consider essential for success in any job that deals with meeting human needs successfully is missing in the Senator. Along with the pragmatic problem solving approach and ability to compromise that also was evident strength in the presidents aforementioned.
33
So, so, the socialist likes to fly private because he can’t stand to be too close to the dumb plebs that have to cram into commercial. Yup, checks out. That’s the communist dear leaders I grew up with. Never tired of showcasing their solidarity with the working class—from very far away, sheltered in houses cleaned by servants.
31
Bernie is the closest thing I can find to John Lennon’s Imagine.
14
Way to finish him off, Times! Between this and the article about his trips to the Soviet Union and other paling around with commies, we might as well cancel the primaries altogether and go directly to the coronation of Biden at the convention.
27
Was this really necessary?
10
It’s necessary, but it was necessary a long time ago. Bernie and Biden, both, were never fully vetted by the press. Other candidates had to face this kind of scrutiny. Now we’re going to have to tolerate learning things we don’t like about our two elderly options.
10
Bernie Sanders is annoying I can't wait until Biden vanquishes him and Bernie can go off to his retirement in Vermont.
15
Stop smearing Sanders. Just stop. Enough. It's unbelievable and it's been relentless since 2015. Trump is evil and I am coming to the conclusion that this newspaper wants him to be re-elected.
40
Sanders in private? Easy to answer.
He is stabbing his right index finger into your chest and screaming at you.
13
There is something wrong with Sanders. He has a chip on his shoulder the size of a boulder. He is
a primitive narcissist. He is a bit like Trump - thinks he knows more than anyone about anything. Example: He was kicked out of the science major at University of Chicago for low grades (and switched to p.s.) but after graduating he wrote essays arrogantly dismissing current oncology and arguing that ovarian cancer was a direct effecdt of sexual frigidity and thatbreast cancer was the result of uptight mothers discouraging their daughters from having heterosexual intercourse upon the onset of puberty ("the age that nature set forth"). He set himself up as an expert on women's health! This was when he was 29. Not a kid. It's not his anger. It's his arrogance.
29
Every smear you guys write sustains a system where people are dying form lack of health insurance. Keep up the good work!
24
He’s a “difficult employer,” but Amy, who has been no more ‘difficult’ than him, is, “abusive.” Double standard? What double standard?
21
There but for the grace of God, go I
2
"Keep that down" …. to a baby!
That cracked me up! :)
14
Have you no sense of decency?
4
Oh well, whenever he forgets what to say, he can always ask Hillary for instructions. She might even send him a script!
2
Hot off the press from the Times: Bernie is not warm and fuzzy. One more example of how the media trivializes the national conversation about choosing a president.
20
Next week will the Times have an article entitled "The Joe Biden Personality Test" about the negative aspects of his personality? Seems only fair.
20
He sounds like a peach. Can we just have a normal human being as President? Please?
12
Sounds more than a little like Trump!
12
Bernie is incredibly accessible, a great listener and a genuinely good human being. If he appears irascible I believe it is because he cares so much and spends every moment focused on his message. He has never humiliated a woman on a national stage, been accused of inappropriate touching, voted for a baseless foreign war, ascertained a woman doesn't have full agency over her own body, and he has never wavered from his principled belief that Americans deserve an equitable economy.
30
Well said, Carrie!
6
It's time for Bernie to throw in the towel. Please go back to vermont and heal calmly.
9
Great. All we need in the White House is another old guy with a bad temper. Sure, he has an agenda written by the prophets of Israel (i.e., heaven on earth) but he can't get it all done even if he has a Democratic Congress. Part of the presidential job these days is to bring the temperature down in the room - not literally but figuratively.
14
My hope is that democrats will UNITE behind a candidate, whoever that may be. Just to stand a chance in your upcoming election.
This would not just benefit ordinary Americans in Kentucky and New York, but also international societies the US are allied with, and who have looked upon the USA as an beacon of freedom and justice.
If the Democratic party does not exceed in uniting their base, free people of the world will be stuck with four more years of Reality TV style "Smear and Trash", "Lie and Accuse" and "Snouts in the Trough" politics.
From the other side of the Ocean I can say that last four years have cast doubt on core values the USA communicates and shares with us. "Share and do things together" are replaced with "Muck you, I do what I want for ME, today"
That is a bitter acknowledgement I never imagined that could happen. The King in the gold clad tower on 5th. avenue New York is not a blessing for the world.
So from my point of view, Bernie, Joe, Elisabeth and everyone else should shake hands, unite, and start develop a good plan of action.
9
Bernie is a decent person with some behaviors and interactions that are king-like.
The most efficient and just governments are those of a benevolent king. Decisions are quick, final and satisfying. And the world has seen many benevolent kings. So why throughout human history have people struggled and continue to struggle to be free to decide the course of their own lives.
Quite simply because the odds of a king being benevolent and benign are at best 50/50. Millions will always fight to the death to be free of tyranny.
Bernie is a decent person probably more decent then most humans. And as king of a new federal monarchy he may indeed prove to be benevolent and just. Still, I have no interest in a Federal Monarchy with supreme authority over lives and livelihoods under any circumstances.
3
Sanders sounds like he is the socialist version of trump. We do not need any more ego-on-steroids Presidents!
I voted for Bernie in 2016 and regretfully, last Tuesday. That will not happen again! Bernie has become more trump-like. I sent Biden a contribution as soon as I returned home. I was thankful that he carried my state anyway!
I have come to realize that Sanders is using the Democratic Party and has for years. With his followers gone cultish, he needs to stop being a parasite and form his own party. Go ahead and be the father of his "Democratic Socialism" rather than the President who represents the Democratic Party! He doesn't represent Democrats. He is like a parasite using the Democratic Party as his host!
His followers do not vote anyway! Look at the last primaries. His followers are behaving like trump Republicons with their harassments and bullying. Out of his over 300 bills in all the years he was in Congress, 3 passed and 2 were to name post offices! The Democratic Party has not benefited from Bernie and Bernie has been nothing more than a sucker fish swimming with the Democratic Party. He needs to take his ego trip elsewhere. He is no Democrat. He is taking more liberal thought, down the wrong path, too! He is warping socialism.
16
The Program, the Policies are the core of a campaign. Everything else is fluff
6
Bernie flies private? Wow.
7
We don't need another stubborn-minded, prima donna, twister of the truth, mean loner who “never makes you feel like you’re good enough to be in the room with him”, so you tip-toe on egg shells.
We need a normal president that we want our kids to emulate and misanthrope Bernie is NOT that person! Biden is!
14
If he gets elected it will be like seeing your crabby, annoying uncle every day except Thanksgiving, because he's so petty, he'd never invite you for what you said in 1998.
8
And what’s up with Elizabeth Warren, getting on these kids as they try to make their way in this world? Well, Elizabeth, not every child is born in Oklahoma, to a daddy who was a flight instructor for the military.
Why not write a similar expose on Biden? Your coverage of Bernie feels rather tilted
11
He's just so deeply unlikeable, isn't he??
8
Bernie sounds like a real joy to be around. Oy. Spare me. I'll take Biden..thanks.
10
Yeah, no similarities to Trump here.
Good grief.
7
A woman candidate would be pilloried for being rude, demanding, insensitive to the feelings of others. The "I'm the candidate, not you" comment would've made headlines immediately had Amy Klobuchar or Elizabeth Warren said it.
87
@Mary -- You hit the nail on the head! If a woman had even one of Bernie's obnoxious traits, she would be pilloried from Boston to Shanghai! Excellent analysis.
26
He's got a savior complex, and his fans think he's going to, that he can, save them. If you insist on 100% or nothing, nothing is what you get.
85
@Ann Dee
Actually, no I don't think he can save me. I think he's the only candidate, save for the recently exited Warren, who fights for those of us on the lower tiers of the pile. I understand this seems to be difficult for some to grasp.
29
@Ann Dee
If you go up against McConnell asking for incremental change you get nothing. Negotiate from a position of strength and you land in the middle.
13
Bernie Sanders is a human disaster. He's too much like me, not presidential in the slightest, and seems as mean as I thought he was; this article goes a ways towards saying why. How did such a narrow and self centered person get this far? Oh, that's right, I forgot, anyone will do so long as it's never Mr. Trump. Really? We are so done for if Sanders is the candidate.
32
Saying Sanders has a history of angry outbursts implies it’s not the everyday normal occurrence. Really? I find every time he opens his mouth, an angry outburst pops out. He is one of the two most disagreeable persons I have ever seen. The other is Trump. Sanders entire persona is yelling, grimacing, pointing. I don’t think I could listen to him should be become president. Like Trump, he gives me a headache. I am looking for hopeful, not hateful. Biden isn’t perfect but at least he smiles. And with the losses he has had in his life (personal, not political) that says something about the man. When I listen to Biden, I feel a better day is coming. When I listen to Sanders, I feel a migraine is coming. I’ll vote for him if he gets the nomination, but I’m stocking up on aspirin.
82
Ah yes, the fate of the country should hinge solely upon the quality of one's smile.
13
Ditto!
3
Queenie, pass the bottle of Bayer!
4
*Just* the character traits required in a president. It'll be wonderful when he sits down with reluctant senators, trying to persuade him to give him a vote against their own political interests... "Presidential power is the power to persuade" (Richard Neustadt, 1960), and apparently Sanders has this quality in spades. In 2016 ONE Senator endorsed him during the primaries. In 2020, it is ONE Senator again; this time fellow Vermonter Patrick Leahy. Gee, I wonder why all the other Democratic Senators don't seem to like their fellow Senator... Meet Sen. Sanders, the Ted Cruz of the Democrats.
10
I admire his transparency which many political and public figures lack. Whether he will be the nominee and survive the current dirty political system, in which even minuscule amount of dirt counts, the movement he started and his legacy will continue to influence the common people and the young generation.
10
Political journalistic chivalry at its finest.
First, report endlessly on Clinton's emails, Klobuchar's treatment of staffers, Warren's defense of her ancestry, and whether or not they're electable or likable.
Then, pound them when one of them ascends.
Then, after the men pull ahead, expose them to the same treatment.
Next time, New York Times, let the men go first on the exposure of their personal styles, flaws and lack of empathy. Then maybe, women will be the last men standing when it's time to pick a candidate.
13
Among the factors that gives you insight into Bernie Sanders is the financial struggle his family experienced, the wiping out of his father's family in the Holocaust, and maybe, most importantly, the early death of his mother.
It is rarely mentioned that he lovingly cared for her as a young man as she fought a heart condition that would ultimately kill her. She needed to be placed in a charity hospital in New Jersey where she died after surgery at 46.
Both he and his brother to this day find it very difficult to talk about, it was that traumatic.
So what has the man done with this pain, this wound? He has committed himself to fight for justice and equality with every fiber of his body.
Many of us bear the heavy wounds of this world. But not all of us devote our lives to fighting for others with the commitment and energy Bernie Sanders has demonstrated.
18
Maybe we need a Dem candidate who combines Bernie's seriousness, commitment and people-friendly ideology with Joe's schmoozing and deal-making talents.
We had one once: FDR
5
Not only does Bernie Sanders now have to fight the wrong and misunderstood label of "socialist" he has to deal with those who complain he's not warm enough. I would rather listen to someone who is honest, consistent, has facts and a good record than Sanders hypocritical opponent, who oozes with warms but has really stuck it to a lot of people over the years while he was in Congress.
10
So the worst dirt you can dig up on Bernie is that he is a bit crotchety? Nice try, NYT, but don’t care that he prefers quiet hotel rooms. I want him to be president so that he can fight for Medicare for All and the other causes he has dedicated his entire life to. Since all the others have sold out to corporate money, Bernie alone gives me hope for politics.
12
Yep *checks watch* we’re a little overdue for a NYTimes/Sanders handwringing. It’s been like one hour since the last one.
How’s that Klobuchar endorsement working out?
15
Still waiting for The NY Times to stop caring about form and bad manners and churn out something about how Biden, while perhaps less cranky and more smiley, would be an awful representation of what Democrats claim to believe (as evidenced by his anti-desegregation, tough on crime, pro NAFTA, and segregationist friendly politics). This is unlikely. Instead, this election will be framed around a meaningless personality contest and result in at best a Biden presidency that tweaks, but does not fundamentally address the serious issues facing us. In 2024 or 2028, we will be faced with something far worse than Trump because, in an age of extreme inequality and climate crisis, Democrats have become the party of vapid form, and you can be sure that people like Ted Cruz, real ideologues, will mobilize that into a much more disastrous four years than the Tweetstorm and fight for attention of Trumpism.
8
What sort of article is this? A list of the weaknesses a person has?
Are you so afraid of having access to a fair health system?
13
Bernie's too radical.
I say that completely realizing that the old white guys will be done no later than November 5, 2024.
And, what's radical now, will be mainstream when AOC, or someone like her, takes power.
1
Watch the Rogan interview.
2
And when will the New York Times address the issue of children and legitimacy? Could the Times name one unmarried a single woman who gave birth to a child and be considered worthy enough to run for president? But no one ever thinks or talks about the fact that Bernie's only child was born out of wedlock and Bernie did not support either him or his mother.
Bernie has never been properly vetted, he has never been held to the same standard as other candidates. Why?
14
I now like him even more.
8
There’s an expression in the South people use when they mean to criticize someone, while ostensibly showering that person with praise: “Oh, bless your heart.”
This was definitely an, “Oh bless your heart, Bernie,” piece. Will there be a similar one on Joe Biden?
9
Love to have a Brooklyn Dodger fan with a Brooklyn accent in the White House.
6
Bernie is an old Jewish guy from Brooklyn and he's on the side of the angels. Some of us appreciate this country's profound cultural, artistic and political debt to generations of such people. Perhaps that's why we have feel such affection for the very qualities for which he is so often chided or dismissed.
Bernie's persona is not a personal "style" at all... it's an utterly authentic, living memory of a time and a place and a people. Look in his DNA you will find the imprint of the Nazi Holocaust as well as the text of the Bill of Rights, the stamp of Ellis Island, and the words of FDR. Look deeper and you will find the Hebrew prophets.
Maybe it's just that I'm from Brooklyn and grew up with my own heroes who acted and sounded a lot like Bernie. But I don't care that he is demanding, impatient, irascible and relentless in his pursuit of justice. In fact, I find all of this to be familiar and comforting. I love and trust him all the more for it.
I say, blast that AC, Bernie, and sleep tight with the angels. I wish we could clone an army of you.
13
An angry, unyielding, ideological misfit with few friends, who sees people as a means to an end. A man with the inability to adapt to the times, and a real unwillingness to learn anything new. Dont we already someone in the White House who has these traits?
12
So it's rumored the candidate is an abusive boss?
Curtains for Amy, but for Bernie, who cares?
8
It is very difficult to get past annoying when there are other palatable choices on the menu.
When you believe your are hip.....you are not.
If you have responsible verifiable ideas to present which can integrate into the real world and all you can offer is shouting and finger wagging it is time for the pasture.
4
I love, love, love that Bernie is a fan of a Lars Von Trier movie!
2
Well, sounds like my kind of guy!
7
“How can you not love this man?” writes @Blunt in NYC. Maybe because his nomination would insure another four years of the most destructive and autocratic president the country has ever had.
8
I love Bernie!!!! I love Bernie because you can tell he loves us.
6
The Fourth Estate with its ridiculous essays is responsible for Warren dropping out and the surge to Biden. First of all, let's talk about socialist-- which to most Americans means Soviet style communism. Please define socialism? Does the state own all the means of production? And calling Warren school-marmish??? Why? Because she's an articulate woman? and forgiving Biden all of his senior moments?? because he's basically a predatory capitalist Republican? Trying to protect Wall Street not Main Street yet again. Where do you live?? morally, ethically, practically? "We can't afford capitalism 4 al" but we can afford constant gifts to the rich?? no luxury tax (thanks Clinton) no regulation of Wall Street (ditto) -- help prop up the banks (Obama) and the nonsensical ACA act..
Bernie, IMO should have been replaced by Warren but misogynists and I include women amongst them decided the boyz had it -- charisma, relatability, emotional appeal (of
Biden- give me a break.)
Well with the Corona Virus we finallhy live in interesting times. Covid 19 may actually protect us from ourselves... and yes people will die mostly elderly or impaired - so the population will go down possibly by a million -- not even a dent... as people seem very capable of popping them out... and no one discusses over population! Meantime let's denigrate Sanders and Warren and Medicare 4 all... We live in interesting times.
7
Check out his interview on the Joe Rogan podcast. He’s a real person.
2
Interestingly he sounds a lot like my 92 year-old Jewish mother, Brooklyn born and bred, just like Bernie. They are both curmudgeons - maybe this is why she won’t vote for him- he is too much like her. Btw, she loves Biden, says she would rather “die than vote for Trump.”
8
Maybe you folks should just not write about Bernie.
Left-wing humanism in America has been taken over by an overachiever class that just wants to give itself compliments while it harasses other people.
4
“Sorry Bernie what I really want is someone who will make me feel good about myself while continuing the bigoted and cannibalistic behaviours that are and have always been the hallmark of the “American Dream”, sigh, if only Trump could keep his mouth shut!”
“You know darling, it’s better to look good then to feel good.”
1
Looks like another underhanded shot at Bernie from the corporate media on behalf of the Biden-Cheney wing of the DNC.
Biden makes a good case for Bernie; https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=emb_logo&v=kQKePS9dTd0&fbclid=IwAR18aBhtaskutlsvf72cvt53lraAnEN_hdFRfHz-5ufnDdSYYNPHnVDoF-o&app=desktop
The 1930's Chamberlain doctrine of the DNC will eventually serve them (but not the nation) well) the DNC can continue to raise more money of Trump is re-elected. Lord help that cabal if Bernie were to get in.
6
Take your cue from the media.
They loved Jimmy Carter, until they didn’t. Every president before or since has received accolades when they were leaving or left, except Carter.
With Bernie, the assaults have been unrelenting, including attaching “Bernie Bro’s” to Sanders’ campaign, KNOWING FULL WELL RUSSIAN BOTS were unleashed to “appear in support of Bernie.”
Bernie is Carter, without the initial love from the media.
That is proof positive Sanders is the best candidate just as Carter was the best president we’ve had in the past 52 years.
4
Bernie acts like an entitled member of the 1%
5
Could Bernie Liz, and Joe get together and draft Al Franken?
5
Trump will kill him with that
and Dems are cruel in letting that happen.
« Running for US senate »
“Super Thursday”
Declaration of independence utterly cringing moment
Forgetting the name of TV presenter he is with.
“Right here in the state of North South Carolina.”
“Worked with Deng Xiaoping,” who died 23 years ago, on the Paris Climate Accord
“Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”
“ We’ll increase healthcare premiums and make sure care is not quality,only affordable.”
« 150 million people have been killed since 2007 of guns violence .”
“ We choose truth over facts.”
Confusing Theresa May with Thatcher.
Confusing Angela Merkel with Thatcher
“ Implementing a childcare tax credit would put 720 million women back in the workforce.”
“Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr were assassinated in the late 70s.”
Confused New Hampshire and Nevada.
Said he was in Vermont when in New Hampshire.”
Said 1976 meaning 2014
“We are appointing the first African American woman to the US Senate.” there is already one.
Claimed he had the support of the “only” African American woman that had ever been elected to the senate,while the other one was standing on the stage with him.“
Said he was arrested in South Africa while trying to visit Nelson Mandela in prison.
“Referred to Bernie Sanders as “the president” and forgot his name later
“ Fix the problem of violence against women by “punching at it and punching at it and punching at it.”
5
I’m a 46 year old woman and I love Bernie on moral grounds. Stop with the bro talk already.
16
This is another article by the NYT trying to get people not to vote for Bernie Sanders. Why is the Democratic establishment dead set on blocking him from becoming the presidential candidate? The bias is obvious. I won’t speculate because I could not honestly name any connections between institutions like the NYT and people or other institutions with monetary interests in seeing the status quo remain in place (insurance companies? Hedge funds seeking to make tons of money in the privatization of once-public elements of communities?) What is going on here? Voters need to vote with hope in their hearts, with a fighting spirit, not in fear or with resignation. We still have a chance. GO BERNIE!
19
Honestly, you said nothing here that was new. People already know this. And they either like Bernie because of his authentic no-nonsense approach to politics, or they don’t.
13
Spouts ideas with no track record, and no sense of love for people that aren’t him. It’s easy to be an ideologue when you have nothing to show for yourself. How this disingenuous person has duped so many into pledging a cult-like allegiance to him is baffling. He’s off-putting both personally and politically.
13
He has no love for people who aren’t him? Are you serious? He is the only candidate fighting for free universal healthcare, doubling union membership, eliminating public school tuition, removing current student loan debt (this is HUGE), and a green new deal to save the planet.
If Bernie doesn’t have love for people, that must mean Biden is truly full of hatred for everyone.
3
Bernie Sanders is no more a Democrat than Donnie Trump is a Republican.
Both men are mostly exemplars of the bombastic bloviating bordering on buffoonery and caricature stereotype of their Brooklyn Sanders and Queens Trump roots.
16
I'm sorry, but the first thing occurring to me was the privileged lifestyle the members of the Politboro enjoyed while the proletariat stood in bread lines.
11
Another micromanaging, staff abusing President? Haven't we had enough already? Seriously, Bernie needs to chill.
10
Remember that time Bernie called a voter a “lying dog faced pony soldier?” Or the time he called a voter fat? Or that time he was so crotchety and uncompromising he snapped at a voter who asked him a question, telling them to vote for someone else? Wait, never mind, all of that was Joe Biden.
12
Exactly! And someone Biden, the guy who wants the status quo, is known as the “decent” one. Give me a break.
3
Bernie is gruff, but he is sincere.
You should watch the take on Joe Biden of a certain conservative TV network tonight, and more specifically of their star host and commentator. It is the road map Trump will use to sink Joe Biden.
Joe Biden will be attacked on his failing intellectual ability, on his incoherent sentences, on his verbal attacks on voters, on his record, on numerous past sexist and racist comments, on his son's business activities and revenue in Ukraine and on and on and on.
There was a reason Obama discouraged Biden from entering the race in 2016.
12
Since there are few to no quotes from Bernie Sanders in this piece I must assume you are again making all this up.
What I hear from his campaign aids, is that everyone who works for him really likes Bernie. I certainly know that he doesn’t attack his political opponents personally in the debates like the rest of them do, and that is a clear mark of a mature, confident and kind person.
Maybe he’ll sue the New York Times for slander when all this is over, and Hillary Clinton, too. I hope he does.
8
The millionaire socialist that finds billionaires amoral.
Nothing hypocritical there. Draw the line for morality just high enough to cover you.
12
He's real.
6
@HLR
So is trump. A real disaster!
6
Thanks for this colourful fish-eye picture of Sanders.
Bernie is a decent person, but being so ill-tempered does not match with the personality a President of the United States of America should have: moreover, we already have a specular - although opposite and downgraded version - at the helm.
I think, after reading this report on him, that, if Biden gets the nomination, Bernie has got two alternatives: opposing to Biden’s one, or propping him in order to make his case on Medicare for all, tuition-free College education, homeless, and so on.
Bernie is a Virgo Zodiac, that is, looking for the utmost Justice. Now, Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman statesman, lawyer and philosopher would say "Summum ius, summa iniuria", meaning that an utmost justice always wrongs the defendant.
Ps. just to add another info: Joe Biden is Scorpio.
1
Joe is gonna have big trouble debating a bright man who knows his core, is committed and can communicate his reasons for seeking power passionately.
In a more normal, humane world, Bernie would be the embodiment of our devotion to decency and caring for each other. A perfect fit.
Someone who wants policies that make life easier and fairer for tens of millions is to be revered.
8
Anger is in that's why Trump was so popular and why Bernie is. People are angry and so relate to someone who is. They don't want a calm, measured thoughtful person which is why Warren didn't make the cut. They want raw emotion. They don't care if the details don't add up, just give them the drama. The worry is that if he doesn't win the nomination and it's not certain that he will, that he and his followers won't play nice and Trump will win again. Bernie is not a team player just like Trump. It's them or no one.
6
This seems like an accurate portrayal of the man. Thank you.
He is driven, passionate, not overtly concerned with pleasing people, has a strong sense of decency, and an overriding concern for the well being of everyone in society.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, a large number of people in the US are living lives of actual desperation and are experiencing large increases in mortality because of it. The status quo is something we can ill afford and Sanders understands that.
He certainly does have faults like all of us. Perhaps his greatest is his failure to build bridges to the political establishment whose help he could desperately use now. In politics, principled stances are needed at times but you also have to practice the art of the possible.
But let’s contrast this profile with Trump’s, whose personality is downright toxic, who manipulates every circumstance for his own good and seemingly lacks any empathy. Yet as president he has achieved many, many longstanding conservative goals.
You have to allow that Sanders could be a formidable president who actually changes the future of the country to our great benefit.
7
Bernie's supporters like how he talks re the issues.
Has he shown any indication that he can actually accomplish what he promises?
His record in congress says he can't.
There are eerie similarities between Bernie and Trump in regard to their rallies and followers.
They are rabid re the rhetoric and the alienation from the others.
5
Bernie has correctly interpreted the big picture of this country for decades.
He understands what FDR understood, and he has lived his ideals as an activist and public servant.
Never bribed off, always trying to reduce our society's dangerous split between the 99% and the 1% ultra-rich ruling elites, he's the real deal, and the new New Deal.
I recall the Podesta email hack, in which Hillary said she has a public persona that pretended to be "liberal," and a private persona, the real one, in which she was part of and sympathetic to the ruling elites.
Bernie is the opposite of that. Commenters who call his ethics and ideals "inflexibility" and otherwise slag him for his integrity have lost their moral compass.
10
Where was this profile weeks or months ago? The essence of effective politics is negotiating something neither Sanders nor Trump cares for or is good at. They both think they are righter than anyone else and wish to dictate their world views on to everyone else. Enough of that!
1
I am supporting Biden because I think he has a better chance of winning against Trump. But if Sanders loses the primaries, as I suspect he will, we will all want him to support Biden, and to bring his supporters on board if possible. I fear that the degree of disrespect the media have shown for him with unrelenting smears about his alleged "Communism," and petty personality dissections (like this one) will make such cooperative behavior less likely. Anybody subjected to a years-long barrage of unflattering articles (and not infrequently hit-pieces) might feel some understandable resentment. I don't see how more articles like this are constructive. Make the case on policy or an impersonal analysis of who is more likely to win and why rather than insulting a candidate's personality. This sort of thing is petty and unworthy of thoughtful journalists.
4
Bernie may very well be a genuine being although his rigidity is not helpful and might prevent real change or "revolution". On the other hand, if a woman presents with similar traits, it would not be admired. In fact, a woman with his presentation would have no chance of becoming president, at least at this moment. Difficult character quirks for a male candidate are tolerated. Perhaps if Biden becomes president he will select a woman of strength, relative youth, and a woman of color as VP, and if she performs well and is "liked", she may become the 2024 candidate.
5
I've lived in the south most of my life but I did spend 4 years living in a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn.
That's why I can recognize that Bernie's a mensch.
6
Why is it when Amy Klobuchar announced her candidacy, she was immediately negatively painted as a mean boss, full stop, while's Bernie's equally if not greater mistreatment of his employees was either completely ignored or viewed as a positive example of the strong character needed to get things done.
Does anyone else smell sexism?
The tragic irony is that Klobuchar has gotten tons more accomplished in Congress in her 14 years than Bernie has in his almost 30!
14
We don’t need a soft touch. We need a hard guy who tells it like it is. We have a job to do and that is to overthrow the inappropriate influence of the wealthy. Bernie’s “soft side” is reflected in his track record of policy proposals. Despite the comments from those who would like to maintain the status quo, Bernie’s heart is with the average Joe. We just need to give him the opportunity to make these changes. It is literally becoming a do-or-die situation.
10
I’m not a Bernie fan, but I certainly appreciate the heartfelt comments made by his supporters!
2
I first heard of Bernie on May 29, 2015. He made a joke about Eisenhower being a communist and it was dang funny. That summer, I held house parties for him and tried to support him every way I could.
Early, in 2016, I attended a rally for him and even shook his hand. In the primary, in my county, he won 82% of the vote. I will never forget the hope he brought to working people that finally, they had a true friend running for the Presidency.
Even more so, Bernie reminded me of my dad. His beliefs and his character and the way he waved his hands.
I still believe he won Iowa that year but it was rigged for Hillary. I also believe he would have beaten Trump, had he been the candidate.
Unfortunately, Bernie fell on his sword for Hillary and I lost a great deal of respect for him. He also is far too hateful towards Trump, who has truly been a champion for blue collar America. In fact, his dishonesty and hatefulness towards Trump has caused me to dislike Bernie. This year, I supported Tulsi.
Bernie, though, has helped bring a sense of opportunity back to working people. He dared speak truth to power on China. And he helped greatly in getting the common man to understand the dangers of globalism and the false narrative of free trade as currently practiced by the United States.
1
It was only a matter of time before all the Corporate Democrats came together to scuttle Bernie.
What has shone through with Bernie is a man who has put the greater good of the people ahead of any personal gains, again and again and again , consistently.
He is the antithesis of our current crop of politicos.
This disaffected first and only time Trump voter would gladly vote for Bernie if he gets the nomination.
Biden represents everything rotten about Washington D.C.
6
Over at The Guardian, a columnist writes:
"Elizabeth Warren has a choice to make."
Maybe, but it is really Bernie Sanders who faces making a choice, the Vice President choice.
Make it Bernie, Elizabeth Warren. She may turn you down, but say that.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
1
I fear that Sanders is just the flip side of Trump.-uncompromising.
Are we the people of the United States to be torn between to extremes? Are we going to be wacked back and forth like a ball on a handball court? Extreme positions whether left or right will not succeed. Health care for all is clearly a worthy and possible result-but not Medicare for all. We need to fix the AHCA not replace it. Reducing student debt rather than cancelling it should be the goal as is reducing the interest rate students pay. Free college, which we had in the past, should be brought back. If Sanders is to be President then he will have to moderate his positions if he is to get anything accomplished-otherwise he is just the flip side of Trump
1
“Bernie’s, Bernie”. That is why millions of Americans are so devoted to the man. After decades of way too slick politicians from both parties along came a man who speaks the truth, like it or not tens of millions more Americans have heard him debate and liked what they heard and saw, an honest man with a simple message, the system is rigged and needs changing. The next few months will decide America’s future: will we continue on the road to plutocracy and being owned and controlled by a handful of Oligarchs, that’s certainly where we are headed as one area of the economy after the other is destroyed to benefit sometimes only a single person and possibly the shareholders of the company, and since most serious stock holdings are held by a relatively small number of people the rest have nothing except a stipend in their future to ward off revolution, even the scraps will be in doubt as the colossal banks fight for the right to control that stipend. Bernie offered up the opportunity to return to the type of government we had under FDR, one in which everyone got a seat at the table. The DNC is doing everything they can to retain their privileged lives, they don’t want to share the pie, even if that means four more years of Trump; with Bloomberg’s billions controlling media and our thoughts and Biden with too much baggage and a terrible voting record on matters of real importance like banking regulations and wars they wont need Russia’s help to steal this next election.
5
He's deeply committed to the issues for the poor as he shuttles between his three houses on the private jet. I'm mean honestly who actually buys into this nonsense? But please give me free stuff that the"billionaires" will pay for. As we're clearly now seeing, even most Democrats aren't that foolish! Thank god.
3
The Main Rreason That Democratic Party Lost to Trump in 2016 was because They Were Not Fighting For Something, but They Were Fighting To Stop Something (Fascism and Racism) or Somebody (Trump). It seems like Democrats are trying to repeat the same mistakes this year; both in The Primary (Stop Sanders) and The General (Stop Trump). History shows that Voters Respond To A Campaign That Offers Something or Ideas than the one that's just against something or ideas or Somebody. Democrats must come up with a Clear Vision and Irresistible Brand. Like him or not,Trump has an irresistible Brand called " Make America Great Again". Instead of offering their own irresistible Brand,Hillary and the Obamas wasted their time and energy trying to prove that America is already great. As we now know,many voters didn't believe that America is already great. Among all the two dozens democratic candidates,it's only one that has a Brand which is "For All" in terms of Medicare For All,Public Colleges For All,Government Should Work For All,Housing For All,This Country For All and not for the few wealthy people,and he also has a Motto which is " Not me,Us". Can anyone tell me the Brand or even the Motto of Joe Biden besides "Defeat Trump" and "I'm The Most Electable" ? While defeating Trump might be the number one goal of tribal Democrats,it might not be the number one goal of Independent and Swing Voters who actually decide the outcome of any presidential election.
5
Passionate, a hard worker, and genuine--how terrible! Our pantheon of presidents has included ego-maniacs, socio-paths, and shallow politicians.
I'll take Bernie any day over the manicured DNC types.
7
I totally understand why he wants to sleep at 60 degrees, as much traveling that he does. It is better to have fresh air and thick blankets than sweating under a sheet.
3
Everyone is entitled to their own likes and dislikes. To the extent the profile is critical, it should be moderated by the fact that this guy has the moxie to run for President. He’s put in his time and is entitled to be himself, unvarnished.
3
I would prefer a unity ticket with as many Democratic leaders as possible filling the administration’s various positions. What will Bernie add to such a ticket?
1
Such sexism that Klobuchar was lambasted for how harsh she was to employees and Sanders is given a pass.
5
C’mon now, folks. Anyone in politics at that level for that long who wants to be president is an egomaniac. And they all have made tough decisions that cost good people their careers.
They’ve all also made deals with the devil multiple times - THAT’S POLITICS!
Money runs the world, including world capitals, and companies have the most money so...
My wife's brother went to school with Bernie's son. Tells many stories about how Bernie was the worst, most obnoxious sports parent he has ever seen. Repeatedly berated the coach to play his non-talented son more. who was on the team largely because his dad was mayor. A real piece-of-work.
9
My brother - who lives in LA - just sent me a very nasty message. He said: How dare I vote for Biden? He said: Biden wants to cut Social Security!
I’m wondering if Bernie is more surreptitious than he looks. The social security tale is false, and was put out by Bernie’s campaign recently. And my brother has NEVER been a political sort. Now he’s convinced that I vote for Bernie or I’m a corporate establishment fool. Oh my.
6
Most voters seem to prefer Uncle Joe to Grandpa Bernie. Joe is more of a friendly back slapper. He even gets along with some Republicans. It’s a good thing that digging the country out of its current mess is a secondary concern.
2
If the Times wrote a story like this about me or you or any adult over age 50, with a history and decades of built up baggage, peeves, peccadilloes and personality, I doubt any one of us would come away unscathed.
Bernie sounds like any human being with layers of good and weird that outsiders get to consider. We rarely or never see ourselves.
Let's have the same scrutiny article about Joe Biden.
I bet it would be similarly endearing and odd.
Let's have a personal exposé about Trump.
I'm sure that would shock and scar many a psyche.
5
1. Providing 9 million more Americans with primary health care, 2 million more with dental care and 860,000 more with mental health services through a $12.5 billion expansion in community health centers.
2. Raising the wages of 350,000 Amazon and 60 000 Disney workers to at least $15 an hour.
3.Restoring $320 million in pension benefits to 130,000 IBM workers
4.7 states and over 40 cities passed $15 an hour minimum wage laws
5.Passage of veterans legislation with John McCain providing $5 billion to hire more doctors and nurses for the VA
6.Passage of legislation ending our involvement in Saudi-led war in Yemen
7.Passage of the first and only audit of the Federal Reserve
8.Passage of the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act
9.Preventing Social Security cuts to seniors and disabled veterans
10.Stopping the Postal Service from closing 15,000 posts and slashing over 100,000 jobs
11.Passing more roll call amendments than anyone in a Republican Congress
12.Passing $3.2 billion in Energy Efficiency Renewable Energy grants.
13.Raising wages to federal contractors to $10.10 an hour.
14.Banning the credit card interest rate bait and switch scam.
15.Doubling funding for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program.
16.Creating the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.
17.Stopping bailed-out banks from replacing U.S. workers with low-wage guest workers.
18.Prohibiting the Importation of goods made by forced or indentured child labor.
19.Mandating free credit reports for all Americans.
6
A politician who doesn't pander to the public, corporate America, or the media. Many in the media are inflamed.
6
So it isn't always the New Yorker attitude that remains when you take the guy out of New York. As a Bronxite born in Brooklyn during the same era as Sanders, the need to be recognized seems to dominate his personality. Bernie just plain ain't a nice guy.He colors out of the line because he dislikes convention. Oy, what a kvetch he seems to be. We would never be buddies.
1
Personal boundaries people. What he says and does in public especially with the authority has has been given is what is most important. Nothing about FDR indicated he would be as good a president as he turned out to be.
As for Bernie's focus and concentration, back in the day before we raised several generations on propaganda and soft porn tv since 1980 people used to have personal boundaries. And more importantly they allowed for others to have them. Bernie is not being mean or any of the things pointed to. He is expecting the people around him to have boundaries and be adults. It is not a personal anything to you when he expresses his thoughts or desires. He is focused and he has the right to expect that if you are that close to him you are an adult who is focused too. You've all heard of "reach for the stars". Well that is his style, demand the very best and the people will give you better than average.
I would have thought this to be obvious: Bernie has a family of his own. When he is not working, he has no interest in being friends with you and hanging out. That is normal. And it doesn't mean anything about you or him.
2
On God can't you see what a caring man he is. His gruff manner hides a very warm heart. If he is impatient, well who would not be working in DC with so many corrupt and elitist politicians swanning around. This man actually cares about the voters and it pains him to see how most of them have to struggle and needlessly die because of the greed of corporations. Can you blame him? Well I guess you can , He is too honorable some times, I think. His only flaw. He is my hero. His innate goodness and the people he draws from all walks of life give me hope for the human race. I sure would love Nina Turner for VP. Ever seen her rouse a crowd? Makes you feel glad you are alive and glad you were born! Do not listen to the propaganda from those who are terrified of losing their power over you. Bernie has your back. The elites, not so much. And the elites never will have to worry about starving. Bernie is merciful.
3
I am “writing in “a woman candidate.
I can’t stand looking at these two guys anymore.
The women are far better presidential material.
Full stop.
I guess trump will indeed destroy us thanks to democrats intransigence about women in America being equal ,for real. !
3
Bernie Sanders is an extremely unlikable totally ineffectual ideologue and a hypocrite who flies on private jets!
There are millions of women in this country who will NEVER forgive Bernie for the way he vilified Hillary Clinton and, as a result, who will NEVER vote for him, myself included!
7
Jesus, enough with grilling Sanders over the hot charcoals. Is he supposed to be St. Bernard now? He is an alternate choice and is that such a bad thing? You know there are alternate thoughts and ways of doing things. Since when did America turn into a One Note Samba. Only One Choice. This Land of Plenty can certainly afford to give Americans more than one choice.
3
The corona virus crisis will show what happens when millions of Americans don’t have healthcare and a safety net. Bernie is fighting hard to repair our nation. He is working hard. If he wants his hotel room temperature cool, it doesn’t bother me. The issues matter, not that he is cranky.
If you are not angry you are not paying attention.
3
I'm confused. Amy Klobuchar was crucified for having a temper but, until now, Bernie has received a pass on the personality issue. Why?
5
Do we still care what Bernie Sanders is like -- in private or anywhere else?
1
It's simple. Humanitarians vote for Bernie. The greedy vote for Trump or Biden.
2
Bernie is a deadbeat dad who will never be president. More about his past will be revealed. He is unlikable.
5
Yes, he is "real" but, in our current form of government, he would get nothing done.
3
His public image is that of a nasty old man bug eyed and yelling for his broken record ideas that have no possibility of coming to fruition. Where we're at is between two ancient males. Woe is us. Perhaps climate change will wake up citizens to find younger energy at the helm.
1
So people think Bernie should be more "likeable" while he is trying to to unseat one the most despicable presidents in American history. Sorry boys and girls, as the Rolling Stones say, sometimes you don't get what you want but you get what you need. Machiavelli said the same thing in 1532 his classic on political power, The Prince.
2
Who cares? He’s not going to get the nomination anyway. We don’t need any Chairman Mao wannabes, which is pretty much what he sounds like. As a lifelong Democrat I say thanks but no thanks, Bernie.
4
Sanders has said on 60 Minutes that he doesn't like to talk about personal stuff. His mother's death when he was 18 probably forever changed his personality. You get the feeling that his gruffness and workaholic behavior is his coping mechanism for a deep, unresolved inability to fully accept her passing. I don't see this as a flaw, esp. as he has used his own upbringing in a poor home and his position as a US Senator to serve as a springboard for a more robust safety net for America. (Contrast that with the silver spoon upbringing of Trump and his buddies). But there is a reason why the Jewish faith sits shiva to allow one to grieve. It is important. It is healing.
1
“Being human” is much important than any ideology or principles Bernie might believe.
1
I look forward to the day Bernie Sanders retires.
3
What do people see in this guy? He's an ideologue with a terrible legislative record and a belief in that his way is the only way. Socialism has been tried in many places. Including, of late, Venezuela. look how well that's gone!!
If he was elected, we'd be switching from one tyrant to another.
5
He is a good man. But no, not my choice.
2
I don't think any of this is relevant (the "good"-"love of children"-or the "bad"). I feel the same about Biden (an article that will come I suppose?) , and I felt the same about H. Clinton. I care about the ideas being put forward, not that he likes his rooms cold. By the way, WHO loves coach?? I've never been on first class or a private jet obviously, but I'm guessing I would prefer it.
He loves children.
He loves to work.
He likes a cold room.
He's picky and demanding of everyone, including himself.
What a monster!
We are the luckiest people to have him as a candidate!
5
I still don't like Bernie. He's an unpleasant old man married to a failed ideology. He's made sixty trillion dollars of promises he can't deliver on and he claims Bloomberg was trying to buy the presidency. Go away Bernie.
6
I like Bernie, but like unlike many cheeses he has not improved with age. His inability to reassess his positions of thirty forty years ago, or admit that maybe Dan Ortega is just another tinpot dictator and attacking the DNC is disturbing. A giant ego which afflicts so many of his background (Bloomberg et al) make him a scary potential overlord and that’s not we need. If Bernie decides to split the ticket, which groupies would love, then ambition and pride is what he will be reviled for in the future.
1
I don't care if Sanders has the personality of Attila the Hun and Biden is the sweetest guy in the world. I do know which one voted against the Iraq War and which one allowed Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.
4
Thank you for the lullaby, but reality is complicated.
Bernie is a good person of honorable intent. Being "warm and fuzzy" is not a criterion for being a good and effective president. In short, I have no need to feel like I could have a friendly chit-chat over a beer with him.
If Bernie were to win the nomination I would vote for him because Trump and his crowd represent an existential threat!
That said, I hope Bernie does not win the nomination for any number of reasons. Here are a few:
1. I do not believe he can win the general election!
2. If he did, I believe he is to inflexible and intolerant to get much of anything accomplished.
3. I believe he would be an anchor on down-ballot races which would cost any chance of retaking the Senate and may cost the Democrats majority in the House.
3. He is an unabashed socialist. He wants a revolution not an evolution. I do not believe that is what the majority in our country want. (It appalls that he has spent time looking for the "bright side" of the USSR and Cuba. And, for a good many Americans, that is unacceptable. See article by IGM Gary Kasparov https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/05/opinions/danger-of-nominating-sanders-kasparov/index.html.)
5. I support the intent of many of his programs, but maximalist. Moreover, means to pay for them and the cost are pie-in-the-sky, especially without majorities in both houses of Congress.
Finally, and I recognize this is petty, it would be nice if someone would convince him to put down his right arm and pointer finger once in a while.
2
Bernie believes in what I believe in. I have no problem with his personality. I kinda like it.
3
In other words, a crotchety, set in his ways old man who talks socialism and bullies everyone in his universe. Spare me the hypocrisy and self-entitlement. I am nearly his age, born in Bklyn., raised there too and far left of where Sanders is, and recognize a case of arrested political development when I see one.
An awful, foolish, self-entitled, self-absorbed old man and an awful choice for president. Fortunately, he will not be.
1
@notthatsomeone I loved “Melancholia” too!
i cant help but wonder if a similar article would be written about a female candidate, and their fondness for cool sleeping temps and oscillating fans?
seems like an underhanded article to brand him as just another one of the rich, when he came from nothing and is one of the poorest members in congress (who, by nature of their job make 6 figures a year). it would take ~30,000 bernies to fit one bloomberg, wealth wise.
1
A woman in politics would never be allowed to have a personality like that.
4
As any talent escort knows, a crotchety sourpuss with a list of demands is a worst-case nightmare.
That persona wears thin and doesn't wear well.
Person to person connections just aren't there.
Blunt force vs persuasion?
2
Sanders needs a psychotherapist more than he needs to run for office. It seems he's hardened into someone very unpleasant, and people who are enabling him should stop doing so. If he wants to wear unpleasantness as some kooky badge of honor, he's free to do that, but I'm free to not vote for another toxic personality in the White House.
Does it ever cross his mind that maybe his life would be MORE productive for the people & causes he believes in if he were not so abrasive?
It's nice that he's so committed to his causes, but we already have one abusive tyrant in the White House, and we just luckily got rid of Bloomberg (who seems to have an empathy-free personality) from the campaign trail.
I, for one, have had more than enough of people who only know how to shout, demean others, argue loudly, push ahead rudely, and ignore advice. I'm tired of all these screaming, yelling, "I know better than all of you" politicos. Thus Sanders' personality is a huge negative for me.
This country and its citizens don't need or deserve to have a president who's a perpetually annoyed cranky old coot yelling at them. We ALL deserve better than that.
I want someone with a semblance of self-awareness and who shows genuine respect for others, so I will NOT be voting for Sanders. I'll write in another name if it comes to that on election day.
7
For more exposure to his humanity, it is worth signing in to the berniesanders mailroom
instagram.com/berniemailroom/
- he gets dozens of letters each day, from all ages and walks of life, that include drawings, hand-written heart-felt notes, and encouragement to keep speaking up for the underrepresented.
8
Thank you for one of the most accurate descriptions I've encountered of Bernie Sanders, the human being. Indeed, he is one of the most authentic personalities to appear on the political stage in a long time.
Paradoxically, his authenticity is both his greatest strength & his greatest weakness. He stubbornly remains true to his principles, even when compromising would be more expedient. There is no distinction between his public persona & his private personality. What you see is what you get, regardless of what you may wish to get.
This may have doomed his quest for the presidency, but has earned him a spot in history alongside the liberal social activists of any era. Bernie, I may not always agree with you, & I may find you exasperating at times, but I have great respect for your contribution to American politics. It may be a long time before we again see any political candidate like you.
15
Bernie Sanders seems to be a deeply caring, compassionate and dedicated individual. In the case of of every day Americans, Senator Sanders has made it his life's work to be on top of every issue which impedes those needs, and/or furthers those needs. In the case of the word "patriot" he seems to be high on the list and will go down in history as such. People of all ages resonate with his movement. I was listening just now to former Senator Al Franken speak, during a CNN interview. Al Franken described Bernie as someone who was collaborative and flexible as an individual to work with, in respect to the affairs of state. He described personal experiences of this nature when he worked with Bernie Sanders and others on the Obama Health Care Bill. For a long time I have felt that if Senator Sanders was elected as President, he would be far more pragmatic as a leader than people give him credit for. Bernie Sanders is not out to destroy America. He is hoping to play whatever role he can in "restoring" America. Some people refer to Bernie Sanders as an angry person. I have seen him smile many times, and when he does, his entire demeanour lights up from within. To me America is very blessed to have someone such as Bernie Sanders fighting for the heart and the soul of the country and the people. Writing this now, I think of the tiny sparrow who landed on the podium, during one of his speeches, in 2015.
51
Please tell me you’re kidding. And if you’re not, and have no idea why I’d ask after reading this....well, that’s not good.
I like Bernie; he is genuine; I did not support him this time around as I did in 2016; I supported Senator Warren. My concern is the fact that he has not accomplished much in the legislative arena in many decades in Congress. This may speak to the fact that he is difficult to get along with and wants things the way he sees them so he does not accept compromise. This country does not need 4 more years of stalemate; we have too much to make up for. Will I vote for him if he wins the primaries; yes absolutely and I will work hard to ensure he wins. My perfect candidate is gone but I will accept imperfect if it will clear the Trump gang out of power.
17
I lived through Quebec's quiet revolution. Rene Levesque was the leader and much of our media treated him like Bernie Sanders is treated. We didn't call it socialism when he nationalized our electric utility but our enemies did. We understood it what was what was needed to build our humanist society.
Fifty years later we are optimistic about our future being better even as things are better now then we could have ever imagined.
We are rich both economically and spiritually. We celebrate other's good fortune and mourn their losses.
40
He is too much like Trump in many ways. Angry all the time, intolerant of beliefs different from his own, power hungry and egotistical. His "Bernie Bros" remind me of Trump supporters and although he claims to disown the threats and vicious behavior some of them demonstrate, he has not done much to discourage it. On the flip slide, his political positions are sensitive to the poor and middle class and he advocates hard for the powerless. Despite this, his personality still makes me shudder at the thought of him being President. Do I really want another bully in the White House even if he is on "our side" - I think not.
26
@RAR Sanders is gruff and doesn’t like small talk, that doesn’t make him a bully.
As for his constant representation of the press as an angry old man, check all the comments here is people who has met him in person.
They tell a very different story then the narrative pushed in the media.
Btw, he is friend with Warren as she confirmed again yesterday, for all that is worth today, seem to share a warm relationship with Biden and funnily enough.. is even friend with Klobuchar, check that piece..
https://www.google.fr/amp/s/www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/rubycramer/bernie-sanders-amy-klobuchar-2020-campaign
Which shows quite eloquently that Sanders is neither narrow minded or unfriendly.
3
Agreed. He’s not Trump, but he and his movement have to many parallel features for my taste.
2
All of the candidates had compelling personal biographies. Joe Biden's is one of perseverance in the face of tragedy. Warren's was one of rising from humble beginnings to at first exploit the "patriarchy" by dropping out of college to marry an IBM executive, but then pursuing her law degree at Rutgers to launch her personal ambition. Sanders believes he is representing people overlooked no more and most people who experience him at a personal level apparently feel this humanity for all.
These people wouldn't find a following if they all weren't personable. Yes, fringe elements try to exploit them for self serving agendas, but that doesn't change their essence.
8
Bernie, Bernie, Bernie...
Not the friendliest person on the planet, always working, holds himself and staff to extremely high standards. Judging from this profile it matches up with who he is on the campaign and why he is the way he is.
It would be a huge difference if we had someone like that versus someone who needs frequent 'Executive Time' or golfing trips but one can dream.
24
I prefer Biden, but I would certainly vote for Sanders. Of course I live in Alabama so my vote will not change anything.
13
Great piece. He is written as the male version of my maternal grandmother, whom my mother and I lived with after her divorce. My grandmother, who lived through the depression, would pull out leftovers for lunch, small bites of anything, and place them on the table with water or tea. If I was unenthusiastic, she would ask, verbatim: “what’s wrong, is that not good enough for you?” I adored her and she taught me how to approach life as a realist.
23
Every biography and article I've read about LBJ describes an egotistical, obnoxious, insecure man who made extraordinary demands on the people around him, including his wife. He was crude, extremely aggressive, and didn't worry about other people's feelings. The "Me, too" movement would have had a field day with him. But because of his ability to pressure Congress (strong arm Congress?), we have Medicare and Head Start. If he hadn't listened to McNamara and Westmoreland and stayed in Vietnam, he'd be considered a great President.
The only candidates willing to take on the health insurance and pharmaceutical companies that stand in the way of health care for all were Warren and Sanders. Now the establishment Democratic Party is behind Biden, a nice man who has had a lot of trouble in his life and talks about it frequently. He has political experience but no platform. He struggles with expressing himself coherently. Is he going to be able to spearhead the health care changes we need?
Sometimes just being pleasant isn't enough to get the job done.
36
@Linda
Need I state the obvious that one first has to win the office before one can make an attempt at implementing any policy? Bernie is too dogmatic and unlikeable to prevail. And his uncompromising progressive stances, much as I agree with most of them, are dangerous if they usher in another 4 years of Trump and by extension, a whole generation of right-wing Supreme Court justices. That is reason alone to vote for Biden.
4
Maybe Bernie Sanders is not the right messenger for the current set of voters. They want a candidate to make them feel good and he makes them uncomfortable because he has identified why they are doing badly but they don't want to acknowledge it yet. In these days of massive inequality equaling the last gilded age, the planet burning and a third of our fellow citizens not having healthcare or substandard care why are they not up in arms?
All I know is that if Biden wins the nomination and nothing changes with him in the White House or if Trump, help us, gets a second term, there will be a reckoning against politics as usual. I don't think most voters will put up with "no change for the better."
My personal hope if that happens is that both political parties burn down and reconstructed.
9
What’s the MOST IMPORTANT thing? Defeating trump.
Yet Bernie apparently would rather lose than accept help from Bloomberg to defeat Trump.
That rigidity is the last we should want from our Democratic nominee
16
60 degrees seems more cold blooded and less carbon neutral than necessary. His history of avoiding compromise may forewarn of a presidency of lost opportunities.
11
@Bunbury
Sometimes compromise is the worst solution. The major failure of the Obama administration was Obamacare. The question is whether healthcare is a right or a privilege.
Is it too late to understand that in 2020 it turns out that it had to be a right.
The personal details didn’t really reveal who Sanders is. I can understand him better if I were to explore exactly why and how socialism appeals to a person and how exactly they understand the core problems to which socialism promises to be the remedy.
How does Bernie understand human life, man’s nature: primarily a creature? A blend of brute and angel? His ‘angel’, or ‘self-conscious dimension’, less relevant, or equal to, his physical needs? His restless nature and dissatisfaction quieted or resolved by addressing his physical needs?
See ‘The Restless Mind’, chapter 2 ‘Socialism’ by Peter Lawler for an illuminating inquiry into the relation between our being self conscious, (with all its attendant problems, especially “restlessness”), and socialism as an apparent answer. Lawler’s examination of Alexis de Tocqueville’s insights on human nature, particularly on the restless mind, are incredibly helpful for understanding the Leftward drift of many Democrats today, and the efforts by others to oppose them.
Bernie Sanders is an extremely interesting phenomenon. He is a decent, honest person.
That is pretty unusual in the political system. Maybe there are two of them in the world.
But he is considered radical and extremist, which is a pretty interesting characterization, because he’s basically a mainstream New Deal Democrat.
His positions would not have surprised President Eisenhower, who said, in fact, that anyone who does not accept New Deal programs doesn’t belong in the American political system.
That is now considered very radical.
31
I often find quirky people oddly endearing, even irascible ones. Sanders reminds me of a favorite uncle of mine who yelled incessantly but never once actually said anything unkind. I, too, generally find hotel rooms to be unbearably warm; I can relate to the senator’s love of a/c in those stuffy spaces! I wish that The NYTimes would cool it with these thinly veiled negative stories about Sanders.
24
The presidency is not and shouldn't be a popularity contest.
I've read Sanders "doesn't smile" and always looks mad.....well, ok, he has a lot of issues which would make anyone angry.
He doesn't take a dime from Wall Street, billionaires, Super Pacs and the like who are the backbone of every other person in the race. He relies on people's individual donations.
I keep reading he is a "millionaire"....yes, after the popularity of the book he wrote a year or two ago, he is, just barely. He is not and never has been part of the 1%.
He is a real person fighting hard to make changes that will benefit every one of us in the U.S., not just the 1%.
34
If Sanders gets the Democratic nod for the presidency in 2020, his vision for our country will ultimately end in a victory for Donald Trump, his vision simply impractical, unrealistic, with one economist during the run-up to the 2016 election labeling his simiular notions back then vision to be likewise as fanciful, like puppy dogs with lottery tickets stapled to their collars.
5
The senator sounds quite high-maintenance, with a lot of requirements for his personal comfort.
Including flying private, not commercial.
Sounds like an elitist to me.
9
@Joanne
The article didn't say he flies in private planes, did it? I thought it said he flies first class instead of economy.
Bernie is best suited for the Senate. We have had enough drama over the past few years. What is needed now is someone who can lead, inspire and cleanup Trump's mess.
Actually it will probably take more than one administration.
We also need someone who can compromise and see both sides. Of course there are times when a president has to go full throttle. The problem is that Sanders is always at full throttle. So if Bernie somehow ends up in the WH instead of daily tweets we will be entertained by daily outbursts. I think that Bernie would be happiest if he could back in time to the 1960's. Sanders is too strident and unyielding to be an effective president.
8
@Concerned Citizen I think many of us would be happier back in the '60's. Things were different...including the democratic party.
2
Bernie Sanders is an extremely interesting phenomenon. He’s a decent, honest person. That’s pretty unusual in the political system. Maybe there are two of them in the world, you know.
But he’s considered radical and extremist, which is a pretty interesting characterization, because he’s basically a mainstream New Deal Democrat.
His positions would not have surprised President Eisenhower, who said, in fact, that anyone who does not accept New Deal programs doesn’t belong in the American political system. That’s now considered very radical.
How times have changed.
12
Politicians understand ‘they are playing a game,’ Bernie does not have that Problem.
As real as Real gets!
Can America handle that?
Hope so.
The change would be refreshing.
13
Parker Palmer’s idea that we need leadership
that stands in the “tragic gap” comes to mind here-the place that isn’t too idealistic and therefore unobtainable or too cynical and self serving, but a middle ground that moves us all forward to a better place. This means an ability to work with others. I fear that Bernie’s idealism is the flip side of Trump’s self serving cynicism.
5
The honest fact is just as most Americans want a President who connects with them and has sincere empathy and civility, and a sense of humor. Neither President Trump or Senator Sanders, both grumpy men, seem able to laugh at themselves.
Then there are things like his free healthcare and college for all Americans. Why should millionaires and billionaires who can well afford to pay for these things get them free? These things should be means tested.
He also doesn't understand that the root cause, according to medical experts, for the many medical issues that cost the most to treat, are related to either lifestyle choices or the lack of affordable healthy foods in poor urban/rural areas.
Even this article shows he refuses to lead by example and seriously change his horrid food choices, which are lifestyle choices. . Thus preventive medical solutions are never discussed.
4
While all the weirdness written in this article about Sen. Sanders may be true, it is also unnecessary to recount it. It's like pushing the plunger down on him while he's already circling the drain.
Bernie has his good points, but I am more put off by his abrasive, unwelcoming manner. I also do not believe he can defeat Trump, and even if he did, his presidency would cause new rifts in an already deeply divided country. I have no patience for such an impatient man, a characteristic that he shares with Trump.
Anyone who thinks he is a savior - and the only one who knows what is best -is a huge problem.
9
The voice of a prophet always rubs people the wrong way, speaking uncomfortable truths and pushing us to see the world as it could be. Regardless of the outcome, he has changed our national conversation.
10
I share all of Bernie's beliefs but none of his what I call his Americanism. The James Traub op-ed today is about the society in which I live it is the unAmerica. It is about a society be about the needs of all being most important. It is about a justice system being about justice not law.
I knew Vermont when it was redder than Mississippi but what Bernie sold in Vermont won't sell in Mississippi because it isn't magic. It isn't about politics it is about magic. Vermont is the least magical and Mississippi is the most magical.
Time travels in only one direction and Vermont is about the future.
2
Bernie is true to himself. I don't have a clue what Biden is true to.
17
@Steve
A very astute observation.
I couldn't agree more that Bernie is true to himself.
Biden is true to The United States of America.
8
It's a real cliched question for voters. "Would you like to have a beer with this candidate?"
Seems like a beer with Bernie would be akin to a trip to the dentist.
8
@Michael
In the minutes I spent with Bernie I would concur. It is like a dentist but a painless dentist but a dentist none the less. I suspect he is the sweetest man alive living in a world of chocoholics.
@Michael Sadly, too many voters think that way. It's idiotic. I don't care if a candidate is fun to be with. I want a president who's smarter than I am. I want a president who will protect Social Security, combat the climate crisis, etc. I want someone who has earned my respect, and who respects the American people.
1
It’s telling that the pmc narrative on Bernie’s selflessness is that he’s running some kind of emotional grift. It’s inconceivable to almost any establishment journalist that a public servant would be motivated by anything other than icy cunning and Machiavellian “realism.”
8
You have summed up the Bernie whirlwind, “Mr. Sanders had always known what role he wanted to play: himself.” Absolutely! Bernie’s ego as as big as all outdoors. Humm, does that remind you of someone else who also has a cult of personality? Bernie has never been a team player. Some of his supporters are the same, all Bernie or nothing. How ridiculous! We cannot risk our democracy on this kind of immaturity. So, Bernie when are you going to get your supporters in line or are you riding high on the ego boost?
7
Being an unmovable “stick in the mud” is not a leadership quality to be admired. FDR, Lincoln, and Kennedy all adjusted to circumstances. The ability to take in new information and tweak your thinking is a critical skill for any great leader to possess. All those leaders were driven by core principles, while still bending, negotiating and adjusting to achieve the best possible outcome. History is littered with those who insisted on the “my way or the highway” approach and only left behind a legacy of rhetoric.

10
@AndyW after they became potus
Which sanders will do
Bernie only got 30% on Super Tuesday, he wouldn't reach out to Rep Clyburn of SC, and he just blew off Selma and Mississippi. He obviously doesn't want more supporters, just his way or the highway, and that attitude will NOT win him the nomination--nor does he deserve it.
25
So essentially he is a socialist who demands special treatment at hotels and likes to fly private to avoid the regular folk crowding commercial flights. Nothing hypocritical there I guess
25
The folks who participate in the false and pernicious “shouting Bernie” trope are often the same ones who want to whitewash (literally!) those of us who are very much *not* young, white male “Bernie Bros,” yet still support the idea that the wealthiest nation in human history can easily afford to insure its citizens if only they’d stop believing the oligarchy. There’s no shouting here. Listen - and if you
still want to cluck about tone while millions of your fellow citizens are suffering because they cannot afford to seek medical treatment, then shame on you.
29
I flew with him (commercial) from DCA to BTV last year. We chatted briefly in the terminal. He's a very down to earth guy who doesn't want to be fussed over. We could do no better than to have him as our Commander in Chief. The exact opposite of the current occupant of the White House.
49
Give me any day the driven, grouchy, white haired workaholic whose primary reason for existence is to make the lives of average Americans more meaningful and livable over the friendly, back slapping, smiling politician who will essentially do nothing while he is in office.
Americans seem to determine their presidential preferences on who they think they would want to drink a beer with. That's about as wise and smart as picking some guy for president whose only qualification was having a show called "The Apprentice". I think the most appealing president to have a beer with would be George W. Bush and look at what a disaster he was.
58
I heard Bernie one week ago, at Wofford College in Spartanburg SC. He modulated his volume and tone, and sounded little like the debate firebrand. It struck me that he has another side, which was nice to experience.
32
I love this man, and wish he could be our president.
65
Intteresting article about Bernie Sanders. He has a lot to achieve to live up to the standards he demands from everyone around him. At his age, he has little time left to actually accomplish anything significant. His entire life he has had two great successes.
He managed to get elected as a Congressman and then as a Senator from one of the smallest states in the USA. According to other Congresspersons, he is not particularly well-liked and he is not considered a highly respected elder statesman.
He also has a very long history of extolling the virtues of Communist and Socialist totalitarian states that have impoverished their country and crushed free speech.
He reminds me most of George C Scott in the movie the Flim Flam man. Except George Scott was acting.
13
@Jack - your comment that Bernie "extolls Communist and Socialist states " are taken out of context, exaggerated and therefore untrue. Perhaps you should not rely on sound bites from corporate media, or idiotic debates where the candidate has 1 minute to discuss complicated topics (which are brought to us by the DNC ).
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. The US has enough blood on its hands to last an eternity, starting with the most recent, the complete destabilization of the Near East.
2
Honesty and Integrity are my #1 priority in terms of qualities! I am tired of the crooked politicians that this country has had from Richard Nixon to Trump! That is why I am for Bernie Sanders, taking into account his excellent and very comprehensive proposals/plans for the future! I like the fact that he is the only one in favor of “a government of the people, by the people, for the people”, by opposition to “a government of the billionaires and corporations, by the billionaires and the corporations, for the billionaires and the corporations. Whether you like it or not, Bernie Sanders has been the most influential presidential candidate in the past ten years! Most of the other democratic presidential candidates borrow their ideas or plans from Bernie Sanders!
38
I like Bernie. He is genuine. I’m aligned with his policies . I voted for him twice now.
But compare this article to one written a year ago in this paper by one of the same reporters “How Amy Klobuchar Treats Her Staff”.
The personal behavior and work ethic of the candidates is essentially the same. The tone of the reporting couldn’t be more different. Amy is to be condemned. Bernie is to be admired. For the exact same behavior. That’s sexism.
54
One thing I like in Sanders mind(brain) has not aged. Trump and Biden seem quite often confused, repetitive, with a speech of a mind that is aging badly.
50
I am remembering the names of the people in my community who stood against him — let’s see there is the realtor who doesn’t pay his bills...
18
So basically, he's exactly as I imagined.
9
Let him stay the eccentric senator from a small state. He sounds like a petty dictator.
24
Sanders' greatest strength is also his greatest weakness - the flip side of his unwavering integrity is doctrinaire inflexibility. On the trail, Sanders the candidate has become a caricature of Sanders the crusader.
The tragedy deepens, when you reflect that a man who has always put the greater good first has inspired and is saddled with a cult of personality rather than a movement.
Sanders with revolution in his heart, has championed reform. Many of his supporters, especially those like AOC, get this. But many of the most vocal don't care. They'd rather watch the human wreckage wrought by Trump than vote for a Clinton or a Biden. The GOP is loving it.
279
@pi You regurgitate Clintonite talking points that are at odds with reality. The fact is that a higher percentage of Sanders supporters voted for Clinton than did her supporters for Obama in 2008, and the percentage of his supporters who voted for Trump was less than half that of her supporters who voted for McCain. While it may make some feel better to blame Clinton's loss on Sanders supporters, that is not the reality, and there is no reason to think it will be true this year if Biden is the nominee.
46
@pi The paradox is in American political/social culture. When you call Sanders extremist, communist, and so on, you mean that all of Western Europe has been exteremist and communist since the 70ies. Because Sanders policies are simply long time acting Europe's ones. I hope you'll not have to test what does it mean to have a private, number limited Health Care, instead of a Universal Health Care, when something like Covit19 il happening.
18
@pi The inference that those who support Sanders will not vote for the final Dem nominee is presumptuous and incorrect. Sanders supporters are equally committed to beating Trump, and believe that Sanders is the best candidate to achieve that. Your argument divides us---not unites us.
25
Some of our personality is regional. but what is considered an "asset" in one region may be considered a "liability" in another.
My father and his family were from Maine--all deceased now--but they were a lot like Bernie, such as being blunt, irritable, and impatient, which they considered "being honest." However. to them, being called "charming" was not considered an asset, nor was it a compliment (as it would have been in the South). These New Englanders considered someone exuding charm with suspicion and as being a "phony."
A lot of Bernie's characteristics described here are considered "character" in New England and "personality" in Brooklyn. He did not do well in the southern states on Super Tuesday. Was it because he is not sufficiently charming?
348
New Yorkers are known for voicing their opinions. We are direct. There is no time in a busy schedule that allows for much else. Being direct however does not mean impolite. It just means direct. And no one is saying you can’t be direct either.
I was told by a Tallahasse woman this week that with all we New Yorkers have to to go through just to get out to work in the morning in a single day was more then she had to go through all week. She could not imagine it. In NYC you learn to speak up. You also learn to give a pregnant woman or elderly person your seat on the bus or subway. You live on top of each other in apartments, walking down busy streets, its a different lifestyle then the South, or the Mountain states or even the West Coast. I’ve lived in all four areas. I’d take Manhattan directness in my face anyday over those who would criticize and talk about me after I left the room...that being the sweet Southern style of things.
43
Bernie is a constant reminder to Democrats of who they should strive to be and how far off the mark they have become.
46
@PB Agreed.
I believe Trump showed the weak spot of “blunt=honest” in 2016. If someone can communicate in the correct style, utter falsehood can be the only retrievable actual content but due to the delivery some people think “he’s being honest” or “he’s a real person.”
Not only is it regional it also correlates to an extent with some Old World European cultural styles. So unfortunately a Trump, from Queens in NYC and grown up with those sensibilities, can play it like a violin. I say this as someone who grew up in the NYC area but with family roots in the “politeness” parts of the country. There are multiple “valid” human approaches to the blunt-subtle continuum. I got routinely mocked for saying please and thank you as a young person; it was the friends’ parents who didn’t know how to take it!
I don’t expect this but it would be nice: East coasters could consider for a moment what the behaviors are that they read as “trustworthy” and consider. Is every last person who is being polite in a cultural norm other than yours, actually lying?
12
So honest - so human. A wonderful American who knows what he is talking about because he met poverty and survived.
402
@Dominick Eustace: Plenty of Americans have "met poverty and survived" - most of them with grace, and WITHOUT carrying a huge chip on their shoulders or a cranky personality such as Sanders has.
IMO, Sanders is being self-indulgent by being crabby; his personality is not to be admired nor emulated.
27
@Dominick Eustace
Being honest and human is insufficient to be a leader, Bernie's personality disqualifies him. His brings out the worst in his supporters.
This report on Bernie shows he is so passionate about his causes that he is willing to achieve it with any means. This explains why Bernie has permitted his paid staff and supporters engaging in smearing campaign and spreading misinformation.
The republicans want a small government, and so all they have to do is shutting things down. This can be done easily by the executive branch, as demonstrated by Trump. In contrast, Democrats want to build a more equitable society allowing all to thrive. Building is much harder than shutting things down. And it needs a lot more convincing and buy-in from all voters. This is why Democrats have to compromise to push their agenda, and why they are center-leaning incrementalists - they are not "sellouts" or "bought" as insulted by Bernie Bro's.
Bernie refuses to face this reality and he is rigid in his ideology. He may be able to become Dem nominee, or even win the presidency, but he will lose the down ballots and thus congressional majority to get anything done.
14
I think most working class Americans who are enamored by Sanders don't care too much about his personality. Of course we don't want Sanders to "abuse" his staff, even though there is little to suggest that is actually the case outside of 4 anonymous reports amongst the thousands of staff he's had.
People like Sanders because he actually talks about the issues and people trust him on these issues.
360
@SU
I'm pro Bernie because of his ideas and his vision - with the requisite toughness and smarts to go along with those traits.
I felt no burning need to know how his personality manifests in private life.
Having said that, I did enjoy this article.
From my perspective, Bernie is a curmudgeon that I would like to hug if given the opportunity.
75
@Astrid Some of the things described in the article are a natural outcome of physical demands that come from age.
If the author is either elderly or has elderly relatives that they deal with regularly, they would know that but I guess not.
3
@SU:
1) "People like Sanders because he actually talks about the issues and people trust him"
I trust my Grandpa.
And my grandpa talks about countless issues. Yet he has no realistic way to implement any of them -- same as Bernie.
My Grandpa also has the same record of enacting laws, as Sanders: Zero progressive legislation.
Bernie got only 7 of his 461 proposals enacted into law -- all were Nothing Burgers. Two that he passed named VT post-offices, one was to name a day as "Vermont Day", and the others barely made a dent for people.
2) Personality matters:
Accusations that "Sanders 'abused' his staff, even though there is little to suggest that is actually the case outside of 4 anonymous reports"
Seems too similar to Bloomberg, who also was accused with no proof. If Bloomberg was a "horrible person" for having been accused, why is Bernie off the hook? This is not about NDAs, which helped both the accuser & accused. The crux here is, Bernie & Bloomberg were both accused -- with no evidence that either did anything wrong. Yet one got destroyed by Warren.
Bernie is a divisive person. Congresspersons see him as a loner who delivers "irritating sermons".
6
Bernie Sanders simply believes in certain principles and will not compromise on those principles. He believes in justice and equal opportunity for all, both in the United States and around the world. He believes health care is a human right. He believes climate change is an existential threat and that it is man-made. He believes the wealthy elite are manipulating and taking advantage of the middle class.
If these beliefs are labelled extremist or Bernie Sanders is called a socialist threat, then the US is in a very bad state.
582
@Greg I agree with Bernie on most everything. I just don't think we can go from where we are to where he envisions in a presidential election. A good person is what we need. Someone who can listen and do some necessary compromise. I don't think Bernie can. He has not changed since the 60s, but times have changed.
30
@Greg
The US is, indeed, in a very bad state.
30
@Greg The reality is that politics demands compromise. You don't have to be coopted but sometimes you have to cooperate. The quote from the Senator who said Bernie gets his way even when it hurts other people makes him simply not trustworthy. I don't care much for Joe Biden, but I know he knows how to work with people on the "other" side, and that's a skill that's desperately needed if we're to go on.
29
Not surprising that he is as genuine as he comes off. Perhaps this is why he has such strong support from his base. It's almost like we know he believes what he says, and says what he believes. He would make a great president.
833
Perhaps so; but the person who wins the presidency is the one most Americans want to have a beer with. This would not be Bernie.
20
@Ed I'm not a Bernie supporter but in his defense, I think most of Vermont actually has sat down and had a beer with the guy.
56
@Agim Doesn't bother you that his long years in congress he has no substantial legislative accomplishments and has shown to a shred of executive ability?
47
If this country lets this great man get away, this country is in more trouble than I ever imagined. And speaking of “Imagine”, imagine all the people never needing to worry ever again about having enough money for their medicine or the test they need done. Go Bernie!
20
@rebecca1048
If America lets this great man get away it will be a real tragedy.
@rebecca1048
Yes, let's imagine Bernie can accomplish everything he has never done in all his years in Congress.
2
And Senator Klobuchar was under the microscope for chastising an aide? And people think there is not a double standard?
So much work to be done to make real the promise of “We The People.”
26
Wow, cool! 2,000 scrutinizing words about someone’s intense professional drive, interpersonal shortcomings, and hotel room temperature preferences, with just enough negative turns of phrase to paint said person as less likable while still maintaining a thin veneer of a balanced news story.
How about some front page articles about Joe Biden’s alarming (and rapidly-multiplying) public speaking gaffes? Or his weird touching of strangers’ faces? If we’re focusing on the non-political aspects of politicians’ personas, I feel like the other frontrunner in this race deserves attention on what seem to be much more serious and alarming issues.
41
The article tries to soften Sanders. He is who he is. I still won't vote for Sanders.
11
He is what he is. I wouldn’t vote for him but I think he is entertaining.
3
I love Bernie. He may not be the life of the party but he has a lot of compassion for people who have suffered.
26
I have heard enough from Bernie to let me know I wouldn't want to know him personally. Some keep saying we must look deeper. And yet looking deeper into Bernie tells me there is little of substance there. Time for him to give up the hustle.
16
We should respect someone who cares so much about others as to work for their benefit. I hardly consider dogmatic serious attention to problems and solutions that leads to the recognition that we should pursue those evidence-based solutions. I worry much more about politicians with fuzzy ideas and a history of working with the opposition to craft bad bills. That Bernie Sanders is truly committed to these solutions is a great strength.
16
How wonderful in a politician: someone who is genuinely committed to the idea that we can make the world a better place for everyone. That's the dream that I grew up with. How sad that much of America has come to dismiss such an idea.
28
@theresa
Not sad. Tragic.
Interesting profile of a man who seems to want for Americans the sort of quality of life that the rest of the world takes for granted, such as freedom from bankruptcy if an illness or accident occurs that is excluded by the fine print of your insurance policy. By the way, thanks for the gratuitous spoiler for "Melancholia", a movie I always meant to get around to seeing, but probably won't bother to do now. Couldn't you just call it "dystopian" and leave it at that?
12
Bernie Sanders is the most lovable grumpy person I know. I love him because he’s a true change agent. I believe people will one day understand that he’s an extraordinary person who we are blessed to have in our midst. When he yells, I never feel yelled at. Instead I picture him advocating for myself and my family, making himself heard above a raging storm of corporate greed that has compromised climate, health care, banking, education, the prison system, media, etc.
And Bernie’s crystal clear. You could wake me up at 2 am and I could rattle off his wonderful platform. He is slowly and with great effort helping our country steer a new course. Issues that were thought to be totally out of reach are now actively on the table. And people understand so much more about income inequality thanks to him.
Change agents are often not likable or smooth. And they’re reviled in their lifetime because they upset the status quo. But they make the world better. Bernie works so hard. Give him a cold and quiet room at the end of the day and he’ll get up and fight for you tomorrow. I appreciate the battle he’s in and love him for being willing to stay in the fight. Thank you Bernie!
33
@Paulis "You could wake me up at 2 am and I could rattle off his wonderful platform."
his greatest strength, and one no other politician can match.
1
@Paulis
So well said Paulis and with much compassion, like the candidate himself.
1
What is so difficult about being kind to the people who work for/with you? This article, assuming it's accurate, makes me think Sanders and Trump have more in common than either would like to admit. I don't care how great your ideas are - if you can't treat people decently, you don't deserve to have power over them.
14
private planes and indoor temps below 70 (even when he's not in the room)? isn't this against his environmental agenda, one that he (rightly) inserts into every debate? Hypocrisy much?
the other takeaway is that his campaign would do well to get a dietician, yoga instructor and/or meditation coach on staff. i will support whoever is on the ballot on November but am beginning to worry about bernie's health and well being outside of this election. at his age and recent cardiac history he's already at an increased risk of another acute coronary event, but waging a ferocious fight for the most stressful job in the world. and yes, all of these health concerns also goes for Biden too, who is only a year younger.
9
So...he's human and likes some quiet time? I'm not looking for a best friend but a hard working and sincere president. Sounds like he fits the requirements.
20
Neoliberal writers always feel the need to force feed their world view. Bernie is his own person . He is my hero. And I am a Bernie Boomer who is turning 67 on Tuesday. We don’t all fit into neat categories .
26
@Ron Marcus
"Bernie Boomer"! Love that!! Me too! Happy Birthday!
1
If Bernie were a woman he would not still be in this primary with his cantankerous character and I’ll treatment of staff.
22
This article made me love Bernie even more, I can’t wait to cast my vote for him in NYC!!
13
After 4 years of Trump, we need Bernie. His " crotchety impatience and refusal to moderate or change" will be a benefit to the country. Americans will embrace a leader who is "more intense and can be insensitive to less important people who encounter his moods" A history of angry outbursts could serve him well in getting his agenda through Congress. The fact that he was "deeply unpopular for many of his 16 years in the House of Representatives, where he bucked his own leadership and pelted bills with amendments" shows his expertise in dealing with a corrupted Democratic party elite. The country is ready for a president who can delivery irritating sermons that set new standards for the American project. Finally, that he relies on a inner circle which includes his wife, his campaign manager, his policy director, and his Burlington buddies will reassure the public that he will not collude with those who want to challenge his essential transformational policies for America.
11
@Dave. Very well said , Dave! Bernie's tough adherence to principles of social justice for all may not win him friends, but, as they say, " If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen "! Sticking to one's principles and values is just the kind of president we need! Shalom ! Fr Pat Ipolito, West Seneca N.Y
@Meredith.. if policy tests mattered to most voters, this article would be about Elizabeth Warren. Instead the numbers forced her to drop out.
8
I really like Bernie. The ads he ran in Texas really illustrated what a new deal democrat he is and how much he cares about the common man. Your description of his childhood reminds me so much of what my wife went through as a child in the 60's. I guess that is why I like him so much.
17
This story makes him more likable. Hopefully he gets the turn out he needs to win in Michigan and Washington.
15
Bernie may be wonderful in private, but Bernie is not a Dem, and Bernie is not electable. Face facts and go for Biden. That may hurt the Bernie Bros, but it is true. So fact facts. Period. Bigly.
We cannot afford another 4 years of Trump and the GOP in power. They will eviscerate Social Security, health care, Medicare and Medicaid. They siad they will do this, so believe them. Bigly.
14
@toom taking bets you had no problem with bloomberg (former republican as recently as his first NYC mayoral election) or warren (former republican decades ago).
Biden will not do anything to move the US in a forward direction. The Trumpazoid will move the US only to benefit himself and friends. We need Bernie to stick up for the Working class and the Middle class otherwise we are lost and your children will have a bleeker future.
@toom
And Biden will let them do it.
Interesting that this profile of Bernie comes out at this stage in the Democratic fight, while the image of Amy Klobuchar eating salad with a comb was seared on our imaginations a matter of days (hours?) after she announced her candidacy.
But ... never mind. At this point, I really don't care. I want to see Biden or Bernie eating salad with Trump's comb at the Inaugural lunch next January, while Trump uses a gilded fork to eat crow.
Still ... I go back to my original point. Interesting, no?
10
I would say it is strange to say the least that anyone who cares about climate change would demand a hotel room at 60 degrees. That would take a lot of air conditioning when the outside temperature is warm. Does he keep his house that cold in the summer?
9
What happens in Vegas...stays in Vegas.
Not me. Us.
Bernie as a politician is a maverick.
He is smart and stalwart, but still working on attaining his Curmudgeon badge.
I am not fully enamored of Bernie as a personality, but am very supportive of most of his Progressive platform.
It’s the Movement, not the man.
I identify with what I believe is his desire to make the world a better place before the seeming inevitable.
For a future you can believe in!
So don’t get lazy and settle for less.
9
That he's been unwilling to learn anything since 1968 is what troubles me. Intellectual humility should be a requirement for anyone who wishes to hold such terrific power over so many lives.
17
It not unwillingness to learn anything, he just saw the future before the rest of us did. And the future in NOW.
3
Bernie is like my mother. She is argumentative, gruff and rough around the edges, but would give you the shirt off her back and the food on her plate. I’d pick Bernie over Joe in my corner to fight for me any day.
16
Maybe it's just me.
From the time I was a kid rowing up, the average candidate for president was of the friendly, congenial sort---bridge-builders, bargainers, compromisers. From Eisenhower through Kennedy to Reagan, Bush No. 1, Clinton, Bush No. 2, Obama and, yes, even Trump, all were old-school style practioners of the 'how to win friends and influence people' personality model. Why, even Richard Nixon could be, well, 'outgoing', er, at times.
Perhaps Bernie Sanders is a throwback to an earlier-model chief of state---feisty, irascible, focused-to-a-fault, sometimes severe of temperament. Think Andrew Jakckson or Calvin Coolidge. Whether this sells to the American people, we shall see. At this point, I don't see anything about him though---politics notwithstanding, of course---that makes him distinctly 'unlikable'.
But to be perfectly honest, after four years of Mr. Trump, I was kind of hoping for a little comic relief in our next head of state. The humorless New England schoolmaster in Bernie doesn't quite fit that bill.
Hey, if Sanders wins, maybe he could send Larry David in his stead??
3
Bernie seems never to have experienced what seemed a great idea was not. His confidence in his transformational programs is identical to faith, it’s not rational. He actually thinks that they are the same as tried and true because they seem that way in his imagination.
All people find certainty preferable to uncertainty. We will ignore all evidence that contradicts with whatever we believe with certainty. Eventually, reality disillusions us from the hope for certainty where the evidence to the contrary simple will not be explained away.
Bernie cannot achieve all that he wants. He will have to prioritize and compromise to accomplish anything. It will be disheartening.
12
@Casual Observer I think many of us know these policies won’t get 100% passed in their original state. But the point of starting far left when negotiating with those who start far right is to actually meet somewhere in the middle.
Instead, we start at the center, something Joe Biden will certainly do, and compromise even further right. And essentially get nothing. I’m
What kind of backwards strategy is that?
5
It's said that a woman who had visited England in the 19th C. and was privileged to have met with both Gladstone and Disraeli reported on her adventure to a friend. "What were they like?" the friend asked. "When I was with Mr. Gladstone I had the feeling that I was with the most important, intelligent person on the world. And when I was with Mr. Disraeli, I felt that I was the most important, intelligent person in the world."
Sanders ability to make anyone in the room with him feel small, is not the mark of a good diplomat. Among the other qualities we need in a President is the ability to forge positive relationships with other world leaders. I doubt Sanders could do that.--
21
@Christa
Well, how is Biden supposed to remember what day the diplomats meet? Is it Tuesday or Thursday?
2
Forever grateful to this man for the influence he had in shaping my understanding of civic responsibility and instilling in me a deep interest in our county’s political discourse. He got me when I was young and idealistic just as he’s speaking to today’s younger generation.
79
Bernie doesn’t except imperialism at all, but understands that he will have to confront empire for the sake of his, and our, grandchildren.
Like Moses, he will except the responsibility and do what he is expected to do for the children.
27
Articles like this will bring down the Democrats' chance in the 2020 election. The party clearly needs to bridge the gap between its voters, who strongly support Bernie, but the elites that run the show adamantly turn their back to their core base.
39
This article has finally given me a taste of how Bernie is behind the scenes. I agree with his politics, so it was just great to read about the man himself. So what if it doesn't say perfect stuff? Truth is perfect.
17
@KT
If the voters were so strongly supportive of Sen. Sanders, as you state, they would have brought massive victories for Sanders last Tuesday. The elites, as you call them, only get to vote once, and the voters of Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Minnesota, Mass., Texas,Oklahoma, and the other states sent a message that destroys your theory. And the massive turnout of African American voters, the most loyal "core base" of the Democratic party certainly don't hold to your opinion.Unless you consider them part of the "elite".
10
@KT I'm no elite, i'm part of the core base. If anything has become clear it's that Bernie has turned his back on many of us ...
6
After reading this article, I identify with Bernie even more! I crave peace and solitude and I understand the planning of a hotel room to be far enough away from the ice machine and the elevator to reduce noise. I'm known to need a fan to get to sleep while travelling. I wonder if he brings his own pillow like I do. Having my head lay on my own pillow will make up with other potential issues of a hotel room such as a bed that is too hard.
Bernie, I voted for you!
83
Bernie Sanders is a star so naturally he is going to have a strong personality and some requirements for his comfort that may seem a bit quirky. He comes across as an authentic figure who cares about making the world a better place. It's time to elect him president.
64
I am the only one I know that likes "Meloncholia".
I can relate to Bernie's attitude and can attest, a harsh exterior a certain ferocity belies a very tender heart. It takes a lot of energy and dedication to stay on track and not accept ameliorating victories, knowing they never add up.
People who are terrified of our shortcomings are so because they believe in America. Indifference is the enemy.
I'm good with Bernie.
71
@Not that someone You are wise.
2
The development of capitalism in the past half-century has seen a devaluation of those traditionally industrial values (aggressiveness, inflexible purposiveness), in favor of values which align better with the globalized post-industrial order (openness, flexibility and fluidity). Gone is the strong-willed, ‘autonomous’ Howard Roark of the 30s; capitalism today is best personified as a beautiful tapestry of tuned-in entrepreneurs, all working in harmony for a better future.
But make no mistake: capital marches on, pursuing its goal of reducing all that is to economic exchange. Bernie’s inflexibility is unappealing to cosmopolitan types, because it reminds them that 21st-century capitalism, for all its friendly faces and glossy Pride brouchures, is inherently brutal, violent, and oppression. We NEED to scream our outrage, we MUST be uncompromising, and we CANNOT be cowed by demands for civility from those complicit in a system which at this very moment perpetuates literal slavery, and the rampant spoliation of the very earth.
27
@Pavel S. So well said. Thank you.
@Pavel S. is this a scene from a movie?
1
I was able to participate in the first election where 18 year olds were allowed to vote. Yes, I am old.And ever since then it has been the great white whale of every election for Democrats. I often made the argument to my father, a conservative, that this was the presidential election where young people were going to finally participate in large numbers, and sweep the fossilized pols out of office that were holding this country back. And most years my father would chuckle, call me naive, and leave me alone to stew in my losses.And every election the voting participation of the 18 to 30 age groups were the lowest. My father has passed away years ago but his chuckle returns to me every time a democratic candidate for President promises that this is the year the youth vote will explode and change the political landscape. I will vote for Sanders if he wins the Primary, after all, I am a life long Democrat even if Sanders isn't. And I think he could possibly beat Trump. But I shudder everytime he claims that he will ride the wave of the youth vote because it has simply never happened.
23
@KJ Peters
I voted the first year 18 year olds were allowed to vote as well. AND BERNIE SANDERS IS THE CANDIDATE I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO VOTE FOR MY WHOLE LIFE.
7
@KJ Peters - I am like you old and voted at 18. Lots of young are involved in other things and it's hard to shake out of that sense of never doing it before, so why now? A bit like being slow to take up housework after doing zero as a child. But compulsory turnout makes a huge difference. It forces the state to enrol everyone, and that's its greatest merit, and to make everyone feel welcome to use their political rights. Turning out at voting booths is friendly, funny, and a learning process. Being "compulsory" is not telling us to vote. Collect the ballot = turnout - and tear it up if you want. I am sorry the USA and other countries don't have it. Here the fine is also minimal.
3
@Sempre Bella
I am old. I AM NOT DEAF!
My dad always said there was a time to take names. Well, I’ve started taking names.
4
The private Bernie is not too different than the public Bernie. Intense, easily angered, no soft edges, there is little up to his standards, the way he wants things to be, leading him to yell and find fault. The Sanders household in which he grew up was likely a very tense place for a child. I wrote a comment here recently that Sanders would be a more appealing candidate to general voters if he showed more his other side, the one that doesn't appear in public. Apparently, the other side is pretty much the one we see.
15
There's a quote from Dostoevsky's 'The Brothers Karamazov' that I think is applicable here:
"I heard exactly the same thing, a long time ago to be sure, from a doctor," the elder remarked. "He was then an old man, and unquestionably intelligent. He spoke just as frankly as you, humorously, but with sorrowful humor. 'I love mankind,' he said, 'but I am amazed at myself: the more I love mankind in general, the less I love people in particular, that is, individually, as separate persons. In my dreams,' he said, 'I often went so far as to think passionately of serving mankind, and, it may be, would really have gone to the cross for people if it were somehow suddenly necessary, and yet I am incapable of living in the same room with anyone even for two days, this I know from experience. As soon as someone is there, close to me, his personality oppresses my self-esteem and restricts my freedom. In twenty-four hours I can begin to hate even the best of men: one because he takes too long eating his dinner, another because he has a cold and keeps blowing his nose. I become the enemy of people the moment they touch me,' he said. 'On the other hand, it has always happened that the more I hate people individually, the more ardent becomes my love for humanity as a whole.' "
32
@Thomas
And to my complete elderly amazement I actually recall reading those very words about 50 years ago. Yes, we have all known such people and I think that Bernie Sanders is one of those. I have become more forgiving as I age and most people I know have also. But let us admit that most of us want to live only with a beloved or alone after a long, wide acquaintance with human nature. And maybe a dog or cat. Thinking about Dostoyevsky's characters rather reminds me of Sanders. Good observation. He cannot win. He is very polarizing. A lack of willingness or ability to compromise is dangerous. And needing private planes and a 60 degree room is hypocrisy writ large. Most of us hang on to our comforts and privileges. I continue to take solitary daily trips in my personal automobile and I know that it is just another nail in the coffin. I am not given any good options in my state to do otherwise. But the change from fossil fuel dependence to something sustainable needs to be planned and managed by sober cooperation. Yelling and arm waving and loud declarations have been ineffectual so far. I do think the country is ready for a discussion about it although it may be too late. I do not think that electing Sanders is either likely to happen or likely to help.
3
Bernie is the real deal. No pretense, no sound bite corporate speak. He is an authentic individual, who for his entire life has fought for social justice for the vast majority of Americans who have been left behind in the corporate takeover of nearly all aspects of our lives.
A striking contrast to establishment Democrats, groomed, media trained and spewing empty platitudes while supporting the corporate friendly policies that have led us to this sad state of affairs and helped pave the way for Trump. Still feeling the Bern.
50
My 86-year-old mother tells a story (over and over) about when she invited Bernie to the senior center in Vt. where she was a social worker in many years ago. He came. They walked together for some time down the road and across the village green. She says that he said not one word to her. The whole walk.
Know what? She voted for him in NH this past month.
64
@nicola davies
Was it because she did all the talking? And he, perhaps having nothing to say, said nothing.
Shall we focus on policy?
Like focusing on Joe Bidens medical plan being more expensive to Americans than Bernie Sanders Medicare for All.
See the following studies: Lancet, Annals of Internal Medicine, and Journal of General Internal Medicine.
52
@Mathias
And add to that: Bernie Sanders' Medicare For All Policy Would Likely Increase Wages And Create Jobs, New Economic Analysis Shows
https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-medicare-all-would-likely-increase-wages-create-jobs-new-economic-analysis-shows-1490800
Plus here's a link about the Lancet article you mention:
https://www.newsweek.com/medicare-all-would-save-450-billion-annually-while-preventing-68000-deaths-new-study-shows-1487862
6
A truly inspiring character in spite of his gruff exterior, he is described variously as being a revolutionary or a radical, but in truth he shouldn't be - the vast majority of what he is proposing is seen as common sense in the rest of the developed world.
He's arguably done more than anyone since Reagan to move the political conversation in a particular direction. Medicare for all, the $15 minimum wage, free university have all had many people working to put them up for discussion on the national level but Bernie has been the figurehead and brought them to the forefront
That he's opposed so vehemently by the Democratic establishment is tragic. When you're courting moderate Republicans rather than progressive Democrats you've truly lost your way as a party.
The race isn't over yet. Go Bernie.
66
@Kieran
Bravo!
2
I'm neurodiverse and an introvert and I hate small talk and I have particular likes and dislikes: I don't like flying in cramped airplanes, I have to wear very comfortable clothes, I need time to decompress after being around a lot of people, I like routine.
I'm not saying Bernie is neurodiverse although he might be. In my opinion, he definitely seems like an introvert.
There is a lot of bias in America for extraversion and being neurotypical. I've experienced bias both against introversion and neurodiversity.
Half of Americans are introverts. An increasing number of us are identifying as neurodiverse.
I'd like to live in a world where we embraced our many differences.
48
I am the same way and completely agree.
7
@ Benbulben Hear, hear!
2
@Benbulben
I must be this. Or at least I fit the bill. Interesting.
3
Maybe those that discredit Bernie have never voted for a politician they believe in, Bernie is the real deal. For those who think nothing would get done, have to remember that Bernie did not get to where he is in life by doing nothing and could not have survived in politics for as long as he has without the ability to make deals and figure a way to overcome difficult issues with courage and leadership.
42
This article states that Mr Sanders "was deeply unpopular for many of his 16 years in the House of Representatives." Perhaps he was not popular with status-quo politicians in the House, but clearly popular with his constituents, who elected and reelected him 8 times to his House seat alone, not to mention then to the Senate.
61
@dcbcn
And both times he took a seat that had been forever Republican: When he won the House seat in 1990, it had been Republican for 133 yrs with only one 2-year exception by a Democrat in the late 50s who couldn't get re-elected. When he won his Senate seat in 2006, he was the first non-Republican elected to the seat in 152 years. And in both House and Senate, his victory margins got progressively stronger, upwards of 65-75%.
That too says something that the MSM completely misses, that Bernie can indeed win across party lines, because in fact not everyone votes in "lanes" as the MSM would have you believe. Many vote for the character, the believability, the consistency, the authenticity of a candidate over their ideological "lane."
9
@dcbcn
Exactly - they weren’t going to coalesce around his ideas, they were too busy getting kickbacks to do things like keep wages low at Wally World. Yet, we know from old videos he was in there hollering for us.
2
What jumped out at me was the description of how difficult he is to work for, how demanding, how he makes people feel they aren't good enough to be in the same room.....and how he is given a pass for this, while for Amy Klobuchar, it was near-fatal to her early candidacy and would surely have come up as a major negative if she had come near the nomination. Women candidates must have no flaws but if they are really, really good---near perfect candidates you might say (Elizabeth Warren), then that makes them unlikeable. And people wonder why we are angry.
58
@Judith L Green I agree there is sexism. But, Bernie is not given a "pass" at all... They depict him as angry 24/7
I have had male and female bosses who are difficult to work for and I am not talking about people just having a single bad day. Amy gives as good as she got. I found her to be boring. My friends from Minnesota like her. Yelling at staff oh please. Having the social media blow it up I guess I missed that on FB. I look at the current revolving door at the WH these days. Love to be a fly on the wall. The world is a 24 hour news cycle. If you are a celebrity or whatever you have to watch how you do everything. Must be exhausting.
Bernie’s staff knows how difficult it is to be the only person in American politics working as an independent yet linked to the Democratic party and how that party would betray him given the chance. Yeah, I would say the stakes are very high. And perfectionism is a strength and a weakness but it also means you are working just as hard as your staff and you know the buck stop with you. That’s alot.
I was an Amy supporter, and now that she has left the race, have sent in my ballot for Biden. I really do think he has a better chance of defeating Trump. And I do find some of Bernie's supporters off-putting.
Having said all that, I can understand some of their resentment. A Sanders presidency will not be a disaster.
It will still mean someone who does not lie, who won't put children in cages, get in women's wombs or start a war with Iran. And we will get action on the climate.
And perhaps because I grew up in Connecticut and been around my fair share of gruff New Yorkers, I do find him quite fun to listen to. It is a refreshing change from the saccharine platitudes that we often get from politicians. (That same directness also made Warren appealing, though again, I was policywise closer to Amy and Pete).
While I do hope Biden wins the nomination, the press will be doing us no favors by shredding Sanders. On election day in November we will have one candidate. We all better be on board no matter who it is.
32
Hi there. The three issues you pointed out as being net positives for Bernie were:
1) No kids in cages
2) Reproductive rights
3) No war with Iran
I’m a Bernie supporter but, in good faith, what is it that endears you to Biden over him? I ask because of those issues Biden and Bernie have vastly different histories:
1) I would agree that it’s become much worse under Trump, but Obama/Biden’s admin started family separation
2) Biden in 1974: “I think [Roe v Wade] went too far. I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body." I know ‘74 was awhile ago, but he supported the Hyde amendment (no federal funding for abortions) up until last year
3) Biden voted for the Iraq war
1
So, personality wise, Bernie is more similar to Trump than different - controlling, ready to berate people who endanger how the world sees him and his brand, gets involved in details when involves him personally.
20
@DC not nearly. no mean-ness, no bully, no cruelty.
@DC Yes . . . and no. Sanders really cares about people and he feels that he's going up against Goliath in order to make the necessary change. You don't take a bus load of Vermonters to buy cheaper medications in Canada if you care about lining your own pockets.
@DC wow what a distortion you're propagating. Nothing in the article suggested that Bernie is anything like the tyrant trump. Bernie's policies benefit working Americans, not his own bank account.
This brought tears to my eyes. Bernie Sanders is the real deal. My deceased father was a lot like him. They both had tough lives but the biggest hearts.
39
@Genevieve
My deceased father was gruff like Bernie at times too. Both had tough childhoods and shared the same birthday. The thought of human beings suffering or hungry children would reduce my father to tears. In public. Man's inhumanity to man was simply unbearable to him. He'd give you the shirt off his back and in the 1950s when the FBI came to our house in an effort to get him to falsely accuse his friends of being communists, this poor, working class immigrant who fled fascism courageously told them he would not name names. I am so sorry my father is not here to see Bernie but so glad he is not here to see the children in cages.
Yes, this brought tears to my eyes as well.
Bernie seems like an introvert. Half of Americans are introverts but our culture is very biased against introversion and biased on behalf of extraversion.
That Bernie craves peace and solitude to collect his thoughts at the end of the day is not uncommon among introverts. Nor is jotting down thoughts. We often communicate best first by writing what we want to say later. Nor is difficulty in small talk.
Bernie Sanders does not seem like an outlier if you look at him through the lens of introversion.
Some of the kindest, most compassionate people I know are introverts. Extraverts do not have a monopoly on good hearts.
36
This article made me see some things I didn't realize. Bernie's positions are so close to my preferred candidate, Elizabeth Warren, I would think it would be natural to vote for him now that Senator Warren has dropped out - not so. I see too much in him that reminds me of me, a good man with strong opinions on how the world should be, often to the dismay of my wife, family, and friends. If I order medium rare at Outback and get bloody rare, I tell the waiter in no uncertain terms it is not what I ordered and to take it back and make sure they get it right - I do tell the waiter I know it's not her fault, it's the cook's and it doesn't reduce the tip for otherwise great service. At work I am just as demanding. The product has to be perfect, no misspellings, no incorrect punctuation, we must present our clients with perfect documentation of the network security we provide them. I'm not unkind to my staff but they do, occasionally, say the clients probably don't realize that they are getting the correct Oxford English rather than conversational English. So, why not vote for Senator Sanders? It's because he's like me on steroids. We need someone who can take a gentle rebuke with a measure of humility rather than a ranting rage. We need a healer for this country, not a socialist version of Trump. Biden? Not my preference, but he does show a more presidential demeanor than the senator. He may not have the progressive agenda but he can get things done where Sanders will be blocked.
25
Sounds like he is very high maintenance though I believe him to be a decent guy.
My fear is that he might just give us 4 more years of Trump.
19
@InMn
And my fear is that Biden will give us 4 more years of Trump.
Predicting who will defeat Trump and all his wiles, bots and deceits is surely folly. But a man who takes no guff like Sanders stands a better chance to win a debate; Biden has been "off" more than "on" over the past year. And Trump is going to call any Democrat a socialist, at least Sanders knows how to counter that and turn it back on Trump with vigor and facts, he's already been doing that. And that's the only thing Trump has even 'got' on Bernie. His attacks on Biden are already a foregone conclusion and to date Joe has not been doing a good job of diffusing them.
But mostly i think we have to vote for who we want to govern, with what agenda, and trust that most other Americans will want that too. Trying to reverse engineer figuring out who could get past Trump rather than who would be best to lead the charge into the future once he's in seems backwards.
1
@InMn his policies would be entirely opposite
His supporters might think he is being tough and passionate pushing pass people telling families with crying babies to get out but I don't find that to be an asset.
I think he is a little crazy. And definitely not realistic is what he could accomplish especially if his nomination effects other Democrats getting elected.
Larry David does a better Mr. Sanders than Sanders. Retire to your cottage and rocking chair and blame the media like Trump does.
11
I have always liked him. He stays consistent. He speaks the truth. He never waivers from his message because of comments or polls. He is the real deal. Two stents is no big deal. He is cognitively intact. He has experience. He can lead. He excites the youth. They matter. He is not McCarthy. This 2020. We need to protect the environment. We need to protect our health. We need our youth to be educated without crushing debt. He is good for the country. If you like Medicare and Social Security then you like socialized programs. It doesn’t make you a socialist. And Bernie isn’t one, either.
The NYTimes keeps trying to get me to not like him. It isn’t working. You cannot control the narrative. The stakes are too great.
50
I’ve never liked him or his persona, after reading this article I dislike him even more. We already have one obstinate, cantankerous, my way or the highway old man in the White House, we don’t need another.
26
The article is almost unbearable to read. Make Sanders into a woman - remember those stories about Amy Klobuchar? - and he would be reported as an impossibly overbearing bully. As a man, he's a quintessential hard driving Brooklynite where "nothing is good enough". Enough of this false double standard.
33
@Samantha
I think the Times just did the same thing to Sanders that they did to Klobuchar, but about ten times worse. Equal opportunity hatchet jobs.
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" Larry David, without the jokes, but with the insults, and no empathy if you don't agree. Did I get it right? The uncompromising populist revolutionary always wants to live in the Presidential Palace.
10
Think who lives there now.
A pretty low bar I would say.
1
I’m not American but there is honestly something incredibly charismatic and comforting about Bernie Sanders - his unwavering morals are incredibly inspiring to any young person globally. I find it hilarious when Bernie is branded a radical left - what is considered “left” in the states is pretty normal in most countries!
What concerns me is the constant hit piece the Times seems to be writing about him (I don’t actually think these are working on my fellow American graduate-student friends); this is reminiscent of the 2016 democratic elections. I’m surprised as to why the same type of articles aren’t being written about Biden, who’s called voters liars and a dog-faced pony soldiers...do we really want a repeat of 2016?
Still seems like many (including the times) are suffering from a mccarthyism-induced hangover - perhaps it’s time for more fair coverage of Sanders?
49
@Antara Dasgupta En masse we’re not encouraged to admire high moral standards in religious settings, where it used to be the focus. But it’s human nature to look for moral leadership, so who’s in front of us now? Athletes, entertainers and politicians are indeed now the moral leadership.
Athletes, you can get the “best coach” role. Entertainers? Art is close to divine. But politicians? “Commitment” and “principled.” I have a hangover on “principles.” Ghastly buzzword justifying blinders. When we feel good treating politicians like religious leaders we’ve gone wrong.
I don't believe that Sanders's Brooklyn roots are the source of his relentless egotism, lack of empathy, inflated sense of self-importance or his chronic rudeness. Bernie has simply given himself permission to make the people around him feel small.
17
Bernie’s the real deal.
Assuming your deal is a millionaire who criticizes billionaires while flying in private jets because he hates the cramped hassle of flying commercial. He must have loved Aeroflot.
11
All of this is one more big reason why Bernie should absolutely NOT be the Democratic candidate for president - ever!
19
Not really looking for a candidate I can have a beer with. Looking for one who fights for my interests.
(However, I'm hoping he's not abusive like Klobuchar is purported to be.)
11
Why haven’t his angry outbursts, shouting at aides and humorlessness been an issue in HIS campaign?? Smaller issues are lobbed at ANY WOMAN candidate and used to disqualify them on the basis of “temperament”!!
22
A personality test? Did you administer the MMPI or The Milan to Sanders?----these are personality tests which would have given you an insight into the depth of the man called Sanders. Of course not; so don't oversell what you report.
At best, what you report is a fly-by impression of a doggedly compulsive, ideologically determined persona in its last throes of life----as proven by his history of an uncompromising program of expenditures which can't be paid without causing vast poverty.
What do you expect should be the response to your 'findings'?
What did the Soviets say about socialist USSR: "In America, there are millions of poor; in the USSR, everyone is poor except for the party elite."
He is a political threat to sanity and social order. Of course, you could suspend reasonable belief.
3
Politicians all have many personas - a persona meaning "literally ‘mask, character played by an actor.’" (New Oxford American Dictionary).
I have spent time with Rudolph Giuliani. He's an excellent listener, has a wonderful sense of humor, is very good company, and easy to make laugh with a sharp witticism. In conversation he is quite generous, giving and taking with zest. I found him to be a great deal of fun to be with!
So go figure...
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
4
I still don’t understand why he hasn’t joined my Dem party. It’s like he says he’s a Yankee fan and wears a Boston Red Sox’s hat around the city.
8
@Tesla Rocks
No, it's not like that at all.
Bernie has only ever joined the Democratic caucus, supporting their majorities.
It would be very plausible, given Bernie's positions which make him essentially an FDR Democrat, that he'd see the Democratic Party establishment as having left its roots and, especially since the 1990s DLC/triangulation era, having allied with Wall Street and corporate influence in a way that actually betrays traditional Democratic priorities. Hillary, for example, was understandably viewed as tied to Wall St. over Main St., surely a key reason she lost Democratic votes from stay-at-homes in Nov 2016, and that is precisely what Bernie is opposed to.
2
Bernie Sanders is my favorite cranky old curmudgeon. Reminds me of a honey badger. He and Warren would make a good team.
16
@bluewhinge
I have had a chance to see honey badgers at work in real life in the wild. They are highly successful and very respected by much larger animals because they fight and actually win their battles. Mr. Sanders is no honey badger.
1
The article touches briefly on his childhood and quarrelling parents but offers no details on the nature of their conflict. I also wish it had discussed the role or lack thereof of his Jewish heritage on his political outlook. When and how did he learn of the socialist Eugene V. Debs, one of his heroes?
3
@Alan J. Shaw
Other accounts of Bernie's childhood, including from Bernie himself in a townhall or two, have noted that he recalls his parents arguing mostly over how to spend their meager earnings.
2
I want Larry David as Bernie Sanders. Him I would vote for.
4
There’s a throwaway line in this piece: Sanders is an avid consumer of social media.
Anyone has spent more than five minutes on Twitter or Reddit knows that a fair number of online Bernie supporters are simply awful. Bernie has repeatedly claimed ignorance.
How has nobody thought to put two and two together here? Seems to me you buried the lede.
21
@Mercury S
How about this two plus two?
It's an established fact that Russians, their bots, Trump, his 'bots', are all colluding directly or indirectly to create mayhem in our elections, to turn Americans against Americans - Trump does that as surely as Putin - feeding disinformation of every sort into the web, Russians pretending to be Americans sewing animosity, hatred, prejudice ...
And then you have self-declared Bernie supporters (who he has disowned for their conduct) out there sowing discord, mayhem, spreading hateful vibes ...
And it doesn't occur to you that these are just one more manifestation of the Russian/Trumpian intrigue to sabotage Democrats?
Has nobody thought to put that two and two together?
1
Mr. Sanders is not my choice for the Democratic nominee, but I appreciate this article that brings him within reach of regular people.
I have one precious grandson and to hear how Mr. Sanders adores his grandchildren, does not change my mind that he should be the Democratic nominee, but it certainly cements my resolve to vote for him if he is the Democratic nominee.
Unfortunately, I cannot attach a photo of my grandson here to persuade you.
13
I may not be totally on board with Bernie’s ideas (I was a Pete supporter and am now Team Biden), but I do like him as a person. I think he’s kind at heart. Reading the stories about him sort of reminded me of my own grandfather who grew up very similarly.
14
Michigan will be The Coin That Breaks The Tie and it will decide which of the two candidates will be The best Nominee of democratic party in November 2020. Sanders Needs That 2016 Michigan Miracle Again. My question concerning Joe Biden is "What Did The Voters In Those First 3 Early States Saw In Biden That Made Them Reject Him After Taking A Very Close Look At Him For About A Year? I believe the answer will help democrats in making a good decision before it's too late in November 2020. Historically, No Presidential Candidate Who Finished Below Third Place In The First Caucus In Iowa And Below Third In The First Primary In New Hampshire Had Ever Been Elected The President of United States. If democrats' main goal is to win in November 2020, then it's better to have sincere holistic assessment of Biden now that we still have another option instead of judging from opinion polls on papers. May We Not Forget What Happened To Hillary In 2016 Contrary To The Opinion Polls Then. I can't believe that after what Trump did to a Democratic Establishment Presidential Nominee just about 4 years ago,Democrats quickly suffer amnesia and decide to give Trump another Status Quo Establishment Nominee who can't complete a compound sentence for Trump to defeat again. Just like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, Establishment Presidential candidates always look like victors on opinion polls and papers until they deteriorate and get crushed in November. Outsider Nominees like Obama always win.
13
@Ukosi Sanders is not an outsider. He has been a Washington politician for nearly 30 years.
6
I like Sanders. He was my first pick in 2016 before I decided Hillary was more realistic and up to the job. I believe everything he believes in. I just don't think the US is ready for such a total change in policies, etc. After the disaster of Trump, moderation is a more reasonable starting point.
18
@Ellie but Hillary-the moderate candidate, supported by the beloved President Obama- did not make it 4 years ago. So the moderate, mild candidate may not be the winner.
6
Everyone knows Bernie lost because he’s too soft and refused to run negative ads in time. We will never make the same mistake again. Starting with AOC in 2024, the next generation of the Left will destroy the establishment.
29
Precisely what the Establishment said in 1968. And likely 1868.
1
Sure, bud. Now, back to work. There's customers at the drive-thru.
@Michael
I’m ready to get started now! Heaven forbid a man would be gruff, especially a man of conviction. And his convictions are correct. Instead they want us to back Joe who in his failing mind doesn’t even know what day it is. This is absurd.
3
There is a popular photograph of Bernie Sanders flying coach and sitting in the middle seat. I don't for a minute believe that he makes a fuss over this issue.
44
@La Rana I saw the picture. He was sitting in front of Klobuchar, also flying coach but she had the window seat.
2
In short-- Sanders represents all the quirks we have utterly rejected in any women candidates, even when they possess such traits to a demonstrably lower degree.
98
@Judeb - Yes, the big rap on Amy Klobuchar was that she was too demanding of her staff. In fact, that was about the only complaint about her.
9
“Mr. Sanders denies that he has ever been an abusive boss, but allows that he can be difficult to work with, and has attributed his impatience to his own sense that he is falling short of his own high expectations.”
This is the excuse of every abusive boss in history.
93
@Mercury S I had an abusive boss, and she never had the kind of self-awareness described here.
13
@Mercury S
Trump says he's a great boss. Who you gonna believe? Let's ask Tillerson, for starters.
2
@Mercury S You hit the nail on the head with your comment.
2
Stubbornness and inflexibility is not an asset for the position of President. Reading this article/resume, I would not hire this candidate.
84
Having strong convictions are important! Think about it, if people were flexible do you think civil rights were possible? Women’s suffrage?Only struggle and stubbornness will bring change because change is not acceptable by the establishment.
15
How does this personality and work style portrait compare with, say, Mike Bloomberg? I didn't get that Bloomberg is an especially sociable, personal, small-talk kind of $60 billion businessman. Sanders sounds like that workaholic, high standards, goal-oriented Type A personality that Americans admire in a businessman. Gee. Maybe Bernie is a closet capitalist?
20
@abigail49
Bernie is a capitalist,he does not believe that the means of production should be owned by the state. How Sanders differs from Bloomberg,it that he is not there for the money, he is there because he has heart and a social conscience.
11
Bernie Sanders uses too many hand gestures. His hands are flying all over the place. They leave one feeling dizzy and exhausted. He should fold his hands to avoid this distracting maneuver.
17
@KMW
those are his only faults, I think we can agree.
@KMW
So look somewhere else.
Why is nytimes so obssesed with Bernie Sanders, the constant analysis and criticism? He has more heart , spirit and relentless energy to wake up the people of this country. Give him some credit for at least changing the thought process of youth. Somebody needs to hammer on this ceiling of capitalism and he is doing it.
147
@Dean I know. It's overkill at this point.
3
Even though this article seems yet another attempt to smear Bernie, it made me like him more because it further demonstrated how dead serious he is about his mission rather than wasting his time and energy being a glad-handling phony. Keeping your nose to the grindstone in such a consistent committed way is extremely difficult at any age. It is the gift most great people have that others less strong always characterize as “difficult.” Extreme focus is not laced with charm. Bernie is 78 with heart issues, so to make him seem like some diva for over trivial things like room temperature requests is simply cruel. He has been on the grueling campaign trail for years now. Are these few inconsequential things all you could come up with? This article is proof positive Bernie will not give up the fight for the People.
84
From the summary provided here, nobody will be able to make a return claim for false advertising on Bernie Sanders.
9
I wish Sanders would walk back about 1/3 of his proposals and I wish he would do a better job of qualifying his past praise for corrupt leftist regimes (e.g. misguided idealism). But the more presidential campaigns I live through, the more I realize that the character and drive of the candidate matters most in the end. Most of any candidate's proposals won't actually come to fruition because of the many checks and balances in our system. With this in mind, I think Bernie would be the best choice for president. Biden is a person of good character but limited drive (and he's losing competency quickly). Trump is a person of bad character with seemingly unlimited drive (of an often Machiavellian sort). But Bernie Sanders is a person I would like to see representing this country--because of who he is, not all of his policy proposals. Even his cranky eccentricities are lovable and come from a good place. I understand why the center has rallied suddenly around Biden (and Biden will likely prevail), but I think Biden will be the bigger risk in a general election. If he manages to win though, he will then be an ineffectual president (which will empower the right) or will have to rely heavily on a more competent VP, which will be a very awkward arrangement.
35
@J. L. Weaver
Sanders has never "praised corrupt leftist regimes." He did, however, agree100% with President Barack Obama when Obama praised Cuba's excellent literacy and health care. All of us South Americans know that to be true. Only in the United States is it a federal offense to say it out loud.
5
Personality test? Oh, please. What's important are policy tests ---for all candidates who presume to ask for our votes.
Proposals, ethics and public responsibility are what we care about, not personalities.
What about needed policies that "the public doesn't get to see"? That we have a right to see?
Namely:
Health care and affordable pharmaceuticals for all, common in dozens of countries
Paid sick leave for all employees--as a national policy--esp needed in an epidemic--common in dozens of countries.
Affordable college tuition and vocational training, common abroad.
Sensible gun laws to protect public safety, common abroad.
These are the rights hundreds of millions around the world get to see, benefit from, depend on. It's called Representation for their Taxation.
That's what the American colonies demanded when they overthrew King George 3rd, and his aristocrats in the 18th Century.
Now we have to fight for it--in the 21st Century.
Angry? be angry at how our political culture has marketed to us, while exploiting us. Then when rare candidates come along to correct that abuse--they're dismissed as radical, big govt, socialist lefties. That's what many call anyone daring enough to ensure for us the rights common in other capitalist democracies.
That means private profit is not the highest prority in all things, that elected govt has a duty to those who elect it---not those who finance it with big money donations.
38
Nice article about Bernie. He's to extreme for me. I won't vote for him. I don't believe he can beat Trump.
23
@OneSmallVoice
Every single reputable poll in 2016 had Bernie beating TRUMP ---Clinton never was ahead in any poll. Not a SINGLE one. The donor class/elites of the DNC picked Clinton. And now we all have had to suffer with Trump. Don't let the DNC further destroy our democracy. Biden will be Clinton 2.0
3
@OneSmallVoice
Then you will be voting for Trump who is even more extreme.
Angry, loner types do not make good Presidents. Consider Trump and Nixon.
FDR, Kennedy, and Obama all laughed easily and often and genuinely liked people. That's who you want for President. Biden is certainly not on their level, and he has lost a step, but he has the right temperament.
42
@Sparky
Trump, a loner?
Where did you get the idea that people who build casinos, resorts, golf courses, and garish apartment buildings, and host reality shows and beauty pageants are loners?
Will people say just about anything to assimilate Bernie to Trump?
1
I don't really care for this old man. Failed ideas and unfortunately, he's the pied piper of a generation (of which I belong) that is not well read or well versed in history.
I can see why his uncompromising nature appeals to some (history always produces such figures), but that's the reason why he is unfit to rise higher than where he is.
28
@Outspoken How is it that ageism is still acceptable today?
1
The toughest instuctor/mentor I ever had was a crotchety grad school advisor/professor. He was the toughest and best instructor I ever had. He had a great saying when a student would give even a borderline "excuse". " I understand it, I just don't accept it". Also a New Yorker turned New Englander, like Bernie, this professor, emeritus after his retirement, helped create leaders and thinkers.
20
Like many (most?) progressives, he doesn't seem very happy. That can't be healthy over the long haul, and it's sure no fun to be around.
13
@Richard
That'sfunny,Bernie is driven by his love of people and his anger at the hardships and difficulties they face due to the rigged system they live in.
2
Another attempt at an unflattering article about Bernie Sanders?
Who knew.
Maybe you should do a piece on his tousled hair again.
The thing is, when you look at that video, when you look at his debate performances, it is so different than the Sanders that you portray.
So what if he likes his hotel room at 60 degrees -- I see a deeply caring, compassionate man who is uttering the truths that others will not say.
45
@Josh Hill Amen.
3
I like people who are gruff but honest, who mean what they say. Give me that over manipulative image-polishing any day.
49
Good article, well written with the right combination of gravitas and humor: Hosannas to Messieurs Thrush and Ember. But as Ms. Collins wrote, "he,(Sanders)is too cranky to be president!"Many a truth is said in jest, but what emerges from the article is the sense of desperation, of a man tiptoeing on the thin edge of becoming 80 and knowing that it is now or never if he hopes to realize his career dream of becoming the nominee and perhaps the president of the United States.Whoever says that age, besides being in good health and having peace of mind is not the most important thing in life is fooling himself. 1 wonders if, when on stage facing Buttigegh or Andrew Yang whether Sanders was thinking, "My god they are, grosso modo, half my age!"Recall interview in 1978 with former general Raoul Salan in the living room in his "hotel particulier" @ 41 Boulevard Raspail and telling me,the interviewer,"J'ai 78 ans et ca compte!"Remember what Berenice Abbott said about the great photographer, Eugene Atget who, towards the end of his life knew the "curtain was closing!" De Gaulle referred to old age as "une epave," a shipwreck!Fortunately, and in shallah, Sanders has many good years of active life, serving humanity ahead of him, But read no mention of his having any pets!
1
So if Bernie could deliver his message in a calm smiling relaxed way it would help a lot?
I don't believe so. The real reason Americans don't like Bernie is because of the word Socialism. They are completely terrified of anything to do with social democracy and believe the country will become a Communist Gulag.
How do you talk to such people? The right wing has succeeded in brainwashing a large proportion of the population with non stop lies.
25
@Bill B, I have news for you: the United States of America are already both a socialist and capitalist country: Social Security, Medicare, National Defense (Army, Navy, Air Force), subsidies to all oil companies since the 1920’s, public schools, public universities, private universities too, fire departments, hospitals, ..., etc. capitalism with private companies, stock markets, ..., etc. Most industrialized countries in Europe and the world are both socialist and capitalist! So, what is the big deal! The big deal is that more than 50% of the Americans are uneducated, stupid and many corrupt! That is a fact! whether you like or not and whether the Washington Post likes it or not!
Let's not get caught up in the primary contests and forget about the ultimate price which is winning November 2020 general election. There's something really wrong that a former Vice President finished fourth in the first Contest in Iowa and fifth in the second contest in New Hampshire despite big endorsements including John Kerry; while a Mayor of a small village in Indiana tied as first in Iowa and finished as second in New Hampshire. The Earlier We Address The Elephant In The Room, The Better It Helps In November General Election. Based on my observations here in Pennsylvania in 2016, I predicted in that Summer 2016 that Trump would become the President whenever Bernie drops out, and that's what exactly happened. That's because a lot of people here in Pennsylvania are Independents who really distrust any Republican or Democratic Establishment Candidates. They mostly said in 2016 that Bernie was their first choice and Trump the second choice because they're both Independents. I can tell you to brace up for the night of November 2020 general election if Biden is the Nominee.
21
@Ukosi
Unfortunately you are right.
Senator Bernie Sanders is an incredible candidate that works extremely hard for working class families. He would be an outstanding President and would truly help to fight climate change, would push for Medicare for All, institute a $15.00 Federal minimum wage and help transform child care for working parents. What is there not to like?
113
@Deidre Selig What's not to like is that he doesn't have the skills to get any of this done. It's all talk. The revolution isn't going to happen. You better hope he has a magic wand to make Mitch McConnell and his cronies disappear.
7
@Deidre Selig The angry side, and the inability to get any legislation passed in the Senate for 25 years.
9
@Deidre Selig capitalism is not a bad system. It leaves some behind but much getter than more government control that will many more behind.
1
I was moved by the short speech that Bernie Sanders' brother Larry, a delegate from Democrats Abroad, made at the 2016 Democratic convention. Larry Sanders had much emotion in his voice and it visibly brought tears to Bernie's eyes. Bernie kept blinking the tears away. His son, Levi, in the row behind him, at one point squeezed Bernie's shoulders.
Larry Sanders said: "I want to bring forth the names of our parents Eli Sanders and Dorothy Glassberg Sanders. They did not have easy lives and they died young. They would be immensely proud of their son and his accomplishments. They loved him. They loved the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt and would be especially proud that Bernard is renewing that vision. It is with enormous pride that I cast my vote for Bernie Sanders."
At the end of the speech, Bernie gave a small smile towards his brother.
It really was very moving. Google it.
128
@Benbulben
I googled it and I’m crying as I write. And they have the audacity to speak ill about him. Or I heard Elizabeth today, complaining about Sander’s supporters. Maybe if she had some of their lives she would understand why they are so passionate.
18
@Benbulben Thank you for posting this - brought tears to my eyes reading it.
13
@rebecca1048
Rebecca, passion is no excuse for abuse. Sen. Sanders even called it "disgusting."
1
In a nation where only one third of voters can name the 3 branches of our government (Annenberg, 2014), and even less understand the "balance of power" inherent in it, Bernie's unqualified declaration he alone would provide every person in this country a free healthcare plan better than the Nevada service workers union, was as scheming and deceitful as anything a politician has ever promised Americans. It's not "aspirational" it's a lie. Bernie's and Trump's methods have something in common,
they are the tactics of demagogues.
91
@Winston Smith His policies are pretty tight, actually, if you actually take a look at them. Comparing Bernie to Trump is like comparing Jon Snow to Ramsey Bolton, and is frankly too easy to do. I mean, anybody can do this. Even the NY Times. I knew the establishment was scared of Bernie's popular appeal but this is pretty disappointing. Btw, Nevada Server's Union members support Bernie.
70
@Winston Smith Yes, it is better to accept a Wall Street solution from uncle Joe because we dare not reach for more than we are allowed. I would prefer Warren, but then she is out now. Moderates will never even deliver an incremental change, unless insurance companies can get rich off it.
64
@Winston Smith If you think Bernie Sanders has ever said that "he alone" would... about anything, you're really not paying attention. The campaign slogan itself is "Not me, us". And he's dead serious about that.
19
Human, in a unique way, but not the qualities of a president who must work with Congress and party leaders to pass an agenda. Being his vice president or cabinet member would be a nightmare.
30
@SDG Once upon a time the "bully pulpit" was used to 1) wake people up to the lousy reality the masses live in, and 2) point to the culprits who created that reality. Today, the masses need someone behind that bully pulpit. Can you think of a better person than Bernie!
5
The MSNBC anchor offered a comment on Bernie to the effect that Bernie wants to make things better for people BUT he doesn’t seem to actually like people
The anecdotes on children are sweet but not the intolerance to the innocent baby cry. The potato chip caper is playful or is it?
Bernie’s reactions to criticism, short shrift to complaints about the extreme behaviors of the Bernie bros to Ms. Warren, the 1988 sister city efforts with the Soviet Union are beyond the pale.
26
The sister city thing is ridiculous, it was supported by people at the time throughout the government all the way up to Regan. It's really a non story if you pause and look past the Russia Is Bad narrative.
5
@Andrew
What is behind the six pages of redactions in file R-1269, Op. 3-2 D.2142 to the file entitled "Documents about the development of friendly relations between the city of Yaraslavl and the city of Burlington in 1988?
It is likely not the alternative lyrics to This Land is Your Land so what is so personal about friendly relations?
What information did the Soviets obtain from Room 415 of the Yubileynaya Hotel and why is the receipt for Bernie and Jane's stay in it part of the file?
1
As a Vermonter, I have met Bernie several times, have attended his town meetings and spaghetti halls. Long before he was the fiery presidential candidate, Bernie was our small state’s hero - the man who would tackle the not so glamorous issues such as dental care and housing. He would speak to groups of 20 or groups of 200, and then stay after and meet people, shake hands, hold babies, laugh and talk. He was like everybody’s favorite uncle - the one who cares, remembers birthdays, gets a little crazy, but you love him anyway because he’s smart and kind and always has your best interest in mind.
Once at a small gathering in Calais, VT my infant daughter let out a blood curdling scream as Bernie took the stage and the crowd of 100 clapped and cheered. I quickly rushed her out the door and waited outside, next to the dirt road and across from the country store, to have a chance to talk to him. When he saw us waiting he started laughing. I apologized for my baby interrupting his entrance and he smiled and shrugged it off. He then took the time to talk to me on a personal level.
The fact that Senator Sanders has been demonized by the media and labeled as angry, disgruntled and mean is beyond me. I will always see a kind and passionate, hardworking man, who fights for his convictions and connects with real people. I wish everyone knew him and loved him as so many of us in Vermont do. If that were the case he would win the presidential election in a landslide.
423
@Erin GB Thanks for sharing this. We live in such skeptical times... I believe he was certainly good natured. Though, I have worked for very powerful people and have seen them shift in ways that surprise me still... in fact, they surprise themselves, too.
20
@Erin GB that's a very nice story about Bernie. Thanks for sharing it!
29
@Erin GB It looks to me like the media is not used to dealing with real people respectfully as individuals. Bernie does not seem at all off the curve for really committed and serious people. But he is not convenient for journalistic pigeon holes. Journalists are not skilled screenwriters that can explore nuanced characters thoughtfully. They have to get stories out that can be communicated with familiar stereotypes, catchy anecdotes, and one-liner quotes. We cannot know our candidates this way. Thus too, most politicians learn how to play this game and stay even more hidden. Trump was a media creation going back decades. He made them a lot of money and they got in bed with a kind of psychopath greedily as one of their regulars.
Now they have the nerve to nit-pick over very hard working, and very thoughtful guys like Sanders and Warren more because of appearances than real penetrating discussions of the seriousness of the issues that face our civilization and how they would deal with them. That said, this article was much better than many. Thanks. Still, it did encourage some unfortunate stereotypes. Gosh, it could have been written instead to make this sort of person look like Lincoln (NOT saying!!).
Sad so many people are put off from Bernie by "how he looks" without considering how media distorts human realities. And I don't think clear media distinctions are being made between what he will fight for and what he or anyone can be expected to actually deliver.
28
For someone who rails on about the privileges of the wealthy, preferring to fly in private planes rather than commercial, asking hotel employees to take time from their normal duties to turn the thermostat down in a hotel room, and then needing one of his employees or volunteers to sit in the room to keep the temperature down is hardly the behavior of a true man of the people.
HIs go it alone (& treat his volunteers and employees gruffly) attitude as well as his inability to "play well with others" demonstrated by his lack of support in the House (where he served for 16 yrs) and then the Senate (13 yrs?) does not seem to fit the job description of President of the United States.
34
Complain about purity tests today, complain that no one is purely of the people tomorrow. Anything to dismiss this man! He’s the only person fighting for workers.
10
@Kris Bennett You try keeping his schedule and campaigning as hard as he does, perhaps you would need a few things too.
1
@Kris Bennett kind of reminds me of the fellow in the White House now.
I'm not sure it's his "authenticity" that attacks his cult members. It might be that he promises everyone free healthcare way beyond what any other country provides with a public system, free public college, free student debt forgiveness, free childcare, free preschool, a guaranteed job for everyone at a minimum $15/hour + full benefits, a minimum salary of $65,000 for every teacher in the country, increased social security for everyone, paid family leave for everyone, and more. And even though he admitted he doesn't even know how much all that will cost or how he can pay for it all, they have faith he can waive his arms and make it all happen.
26
@jas2200 Exactly. As the commercial says, everybody loves free. They especially love free, free, free, free, free, free. Just like they had under Mom and Dad.
1
@jas2200 As a so called Bernie bro I'll say this: no one thinks Bernie will make any of this happen with magic. No one thinks everything he wants for Americans will happen. What we do know is that an awful lot of countries have all or most of what you list as impossible dreams. If America can't join them then we truly are NOT exceptional in any way. Some of us want America to be exceptional in ways beyond having a powerful military.
2
@jas2200 Laying claim to what most of our Democratic leaders work on everyday... many of them making policy and protecting our rights each and everyday... all he has are slogans...
So, what this profile says to me is that even if you couldn’t tell from his accent, and even if he’s spent most of his adult life elsewhere, Bernie is at heart a NYer, with all that entails. To some, he’s blunt, sarcastic, and difficult. As a fellow ex-NYer, I read those same qualities to mean he’s candid, passionate, and smart.
So there is no inner Bernie and what you see is what you get? No better endorsement for me on why he appears, and is, authentic.
And I like my nighttime temperature to be an almost as arctic, 62 degrees.
I felt the Bern in 2016. Still feeling it now.
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@Patricia Sun I felt the Bern years ago when Bernie was on the Thom Hartman radio show every Friday. As for blunt, sarcastic and difficult. Funny how so many act like they care about that when they will never in their life times sit in a room with him.
5
@Patricia Sun It is very easy to be blunt and sarcastic and lie at the same time. It is desperately easy. Trump is just as New York as Bernie, really perhaps more so after the whole mob-real estate thing is factored in.
No, people figured out how to trick New Yorkers a long time ago. I’ll vote Bernie if he’s nominated but i don’t look forward to it.
1
Sanders has, for all his faults, encapsulated in his campaign the solutions to the problems of health insurance and inequality. Rather than seeing this as being self righteous, or uncompromising, we could see him as being in the best position to push back against the to well funded insurance and drug companies who stand in the way of universal coverage.
42
And exactly HOW is he going to get elected with his supposed “solutions?” Higher taxes and free everything? And if he possibly was elected (not!) how does he get all that through Congress? He won’t! Nominate him and we’ll have 7-2 conservative majority on the Supreme Court and the end of our Democracy. And Trump!
1
Such single-minded personalities who only go from hot to hotter - are not that unique. In today's world, a person can easily surround themselves with the data that enforces what they already believe, and will have fewer opportunities to see the other side of any question.
There are lots of Bernies. I meet them all the time. Left-wing Bernies, Right-wing Bernies, Bernies who watch the shopping channel and only watch the shopping channel.
They see life one way. They go at one speed. Not a single one of them is Presidential material.
31
@Winston So you think Bernie is narrow minded, but corporate Democrats aren't? Evangelical Republicans aren't?
3
@Winston Populism
Sanders would have been a far more effective activist/advocate rather than a Washington politician.
24
@BB HERNANDEZ In fact, he spent many years, especially in college and afterwards, as an activist! We need Washington politicians with those kind of roots.
5
@BB HERNANDEZ
Very possibly. However, some sort of congressbodies would still be needed to actually draft and press for that type of legislation. They're in very short supply. You know the saying. If you want something done, sometimes you have do it yourself.
1
Many in the comments have remarked that Sanders would have accomplished more if he were more personable and less demanding. As we wind down this primary, I see it differently.
The Sanders candidacy is not must a 2020 run for the nomination. Sanders, I think, knows that he won’t get the nomination short of a miracle. There are too many forces arrayed against that.
He seems determined to change the political conversation and inspire those young people to build a “movement” that will last beyond 2020, regardless of the nomination. Movements are hard to start in this country, especially when the politicians are more interested in their personal brand.
Sanders keeps telling them it is about “us”. That is a heavy political lift in such an individualistic culture. If the problems continue to fester, either the “movement” for change strengthens or it splinters in anger, which would be much worse.
24
@Jazz Paw It's like how George McGovern woke up a sleep (older) America to the wrongness of the Vietnam War. Bernie is waking up a very sleepy (older) America about how we can and should have a national health plan. How union created the middle class. About how Generation Z will never have as good as their grandparents. Much of America is asleep. That's why Bernie shouts. He's trying to wake us up!
2
@Jazz Paw
The Dems can kiss their party goodbye if he doesn’t get the nomination.
There is nothing unique about the Bernie described here. I grew up in his neighborhood (I'm 11 years younger) and many (most?) of my peers and I can be described in much the same way, albeit without the level of accomplishment Bernie has achieved. Many talk about his self-proclaimed socialism as putting a ceiling on his voter share, but this obvious and unfettered Brooklyn personality likely also contributes. Conversely, that authenticity is why his supporters are so passionate.
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Reads as a "Man of Great Character"!
A real and unvarnished Human Being.
I love this man.
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Thanks, Glenn and Sydney, for this glimpse into the man.
It's good to know that the crankiness and seemingly ever-present exasperation is, perhaps, a sign of impatience to get important things done and an inability to sit around waiting for those things to get done.
Thanks for the insights.
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@Elizabeth He has been cranky and impatient for the nearly 30 years as a politician.
Sanders the man, Sanders the politician, and Sanders the historical figure going back to the anti-war and civil rights movements are all the same person as far as I can tell.
For me what is important is a leader who is committed to environmental, social and economic justice for all Americans and isn't afraid to say so.
I have seen Sanders behind the scenes at meet-and-greets and he does come off as in a hurry to get on with more important things. He's just not that into shaking hands and making small talk.
But that's a price I would gladly pay in exchange for a leader who will not compromise with segregationists, support the invasion and occupation of places like Iraq because it is a popular thing to do, or suggest we address the enormous billionaire tax cuts by cutting serves to the poor and/or seniors.
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The Bernie that I and my wife have known is a person with a good heart. He was our Rep. and Sen. when we lived in Vermont until 2016. Around 10 years ago, my wife had flown home to Burlington airport and was having some difficulty handling her baggage. There was Bernie who came right up to assist her. In 2012, when President Obama visited Vermont, Bernie was there and despite a big crowd, took some time to have a discussion with me and then pose as my wife took our picture. A very down-to-earth person.
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Seems like it was written to be disparaging, but instead, it simply shows that he's a human being with creature comforts just like the rest of us. I loved the profile, and it solidified my view that he's a regular person just like the rest of us who craves specific circumstances, if only because that is something that he did not have when he was young.
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I would be happy to see much much less of any Bernie.
52
I’ve seen a real change in how Bernie is perceived here Rust Belt Pennsylvania this cycle vs. ‘16. In ‘16 he was seen as a straight talking kind of older gent - the kind that would show up at the Union Shop every so often from NY or Chicago. While not being a Union worker, these quirky old intellectuals were generally viewed with appreciation and a sense of being a part of the unionized labor landscape. People felt that he understood their world and they trusted him. Somehow this time, he is seen as a candidate of the privileged Ivy League college kids. His flip talking points about weed in an area beset with drug problems is really not resonating. Nor is free college. And also the social justice issues seem performative outside of a labor context. Bernie has gotten too hip. I think he’ll get creamed in MI.
45
Such an interesting profile. Well done. My immediate reaction, however, was if a woman candidate displayed these traits, how far would she get in public life?
We know the answer: not far at all and she would never be tagged with a labels as kind as "grumpy" or irascible.
These thoughts lead me right back to Elizabeth Warren's statement about female presidential candidates which were so honest and raw. This profile gives her even more to contemplate as she weighs whether to endorse Sanders or Biden, if she reads it.
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@Times Reader Can one imagine the reaction of BernieBros had a story appeared about Hillary’s list of demands at hotels, what the hotel room temperature had to be and how she hated flying commercial. Bloomberg landed a pretty good punch. What a country where a socialist can have three houses and make numerous demands about his travel arrangements.
6
I agree. As I read the article I kept thinking about how Amy Klobuchar was bashed for being a demanding and sometimes irritable boss.
7
@Times Reader
Like ones that throw staplers?
3
Bernie Sanders may have decided there is only one way to get from point "A" to point "B". Certainly he is entitled to that belief as are the many others who idolize him.
If there are those, and very possibly many of them, who do not agree, it doesn't justify the conclusion, as one commenter wrote, that "the US is in a very bad state".
Some might find his consistency and his intransigence a plus but they should keep in mind that if he neither gets the nomination nor is elected President, he will have accomplished nothing.
10
Other people "exposing Bernie to political risk"?
That's so funny! :)
For all his years in politics, that just goes to show just how much Bernie is out of touch with how he comes across to voters. No wonder he feels he doesn't have to change a thing, and losing the election.
24
Doesn't bother me that he's a bit of a nut and a crank or that he's touchy about his surroundings or thinks they should have put more shrimp on his salad. I used to be in the restaurant business and I'm very familiar with the type.
But if he's to be President I would like to know who he will gather around him for the cabinet, his aides, all the numbers of people with jobs in an administration. I really wonder whom he would choose for Vice President. Won't that person be highly likely to succeed him?
And I heard stories about Jimmy Carter and his days, third party to be sure, but still they sounded true. That he was a micromanager and that it was very difficult to work for him.
Trump is almost impossible to work for. Are we going to have more stories about a boss who just doesn't get along with anyone?
Aren't any of these politicians somewhat normal?
22
@paulyyams A Sanders WH house would be as chaotic as the Trump WH. Sanders has already surrounded his campaign with the my way or the highway bunch and their absolutism, including that of Sanders, will get nothing done. The media will eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
9
@paulyyams - "Aren't any of these politicians somewhat normal?"
NO
A lifelong staunch commitment to steadfast beliefs are admirable qualities but not so much in a president. Governing requires compromise. You can't get a significant bill passed through both houses without compromise especially when the bill requires historic changes in health care, college debt, and a supertax on the wealthy.
If you won't compromise, nothing will get done. That's why President Bernie would be an absolute catastrophe.
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@kstewart33c
I very much agree that politics is the art of compromise, which doesn't mean that a politican must be "compromised," as Sanders seems to believe about most of those in the Democratic party.
11
@kstewart33c A Congressman who's unable to achieve compromises wouldn't have been the "ammendment king" for so many years. Guess what, "Bernie Sanders passed more roll call amendments in a Republican Congress than any other member." And that's a verified fact.
Seems to me he's exactly the kind of guy who would be a great president: Hard working, uncompromising in his values, fighting for a better future for the 99%, smart in his ways of moving the ball in the right direction.
@kstewart33c
Democrats need to start fighting and falling for the feigned compromise with republican. Shark teeth all around and laughing all the way.
That Bernie seems uncompromising says as much about the times as it does about him. Were he in Congress in 1948 (even in the 50s?), he might well be known as someone who could work with Republicans--because Republicans in those days--and this goes for the vast majority of Democrats--were a different breed than those in Congress now. Nowadays, a Republican "compromise" occurs when Democrats enact Republican priorities with cosmetic changes meant to soften the damage the bill will do to millions. Remember that not a single Republican voted for the Affordable Care Act, which was based on a Republican plan. His unwillingness to "compromise" simply reflects his intense awareness of how distorted the current American political situation is.
57
@Steve Actually, Bernie is someone who can work with reasonable Republicans. Just at his own conditions, without selling out his core values. That's how "Bernie Sanders passed more roll call amendments in a Republican Congress than any other member."
1
I don’t really care about Bernie’s personality, though the depiction here is enough to disqualify him for me. I do care about his policies and his record, including his record of working with others to get things done. His policies, record and temperament all disqualify him, in 2016 and again now. The only thing that’s truly sad, and alarming, is how far Sanders has gotten based solely on Cult of Personality. Sounds a lot like Trump. No thanks.
55
He seems like a flawed, normal human who cares and works too hard. He could be a better President than Joe Biden, but at this point I'll vote for either of them. I definitely prefer Bernie, and his character trait of being genuine is part of that reason. Being real and honest is virtue number one.
81
@Sues As "genuine" as the ad he just ran in FL showing him and Obama as bff?
1
Wow. Just, wow.
I urge everyone to read the click through the link on “angry outbursts.”
I have never seen anything in the MSM about the fact that Sanders is an abusive boss. As an early fan of Amy Klobuchar, I am stunned and livid at this double standard.
Sanders has been running for President for five years. He has been in 1st or 2nd place for most of the year. Amy never placed in the top five. But I certainly heard about her. Some progressive podcasts dedicated entire episodes to this. They acknowledged that many prominent men have terrible tempers, but justified ripping Klobuchar apart because men shouldn’t be abusive, and of course, we start enforcing this rule with a woman.
I’m gobsmacked. How can we possibly evaluate these candidates when the media coverage is so lopsided? Talk about a double standard.
76
@Mercury S Bernie is not a Saint nor he ever did, he is a human with all the human flaws.
For all the flaws, he has the least of all candidates.
Lets take Amy, you think when she was a prosecutor she did not have score card for incarcerating people despite knowing the defendant was not as guilty or not guilty?
I am sure if she stayed long enough we would have been entertained.
7
@Mercury S Totally agree - this was my first thought upon reading this article.
4
@Mercury S
Bernie can be gruff and particular, but abusive? I don't think so.
This article's characterization of Bernie isn't entirely accurate. His remarks to the NYT editorial board, for example, were made to the editorial board, not to a friend or any other individual. He was letting them know that he wasn't going to change for them just so they'd give him their endorsement, which was part what that interview was all about.
The NYT doesn't have any particular love for Bernie, so take this "portrait" with a grain of salt. They could have put his love of children up at the top, for example, but they put it closer to the bottom. And they don't appear to have interviewed his friends or family for this article - i.e., people who love him and know him best.
11
Sanders politics is based on directing anger at an elite and he really excels at that. In this case the elite would be the oligarchy or executives of multinational corporations. According to Sanders they have too much influence on Washington politicians, and not only Republicans but also the Democratic establishment. He believes the Republicans must be defeated and center-left Democrats must be replaced by Democrats on the left. His personality seems like a great fit for his politics. His mission is serious and there cannot be a let up in carrying on the fight against a corrupt political system. However it looks like he will fall short again because his political base cannot be sufficiently expanded. Whatever is needed to change that hasn't happened.
14
As a Sanders supporter, I also sent money to Elizabeth Warren, because I admire them both and feel they have their eyes on the future rather than a return to the status quo. Together, I think they would make a good team. What Bernie lacks in the social graces, she has in abundance, and the whole idea of a "balanced ticket" seems anachronistic after what we've gone through since 2017.
65
I guess an unwillingness to adapt can be a strength and a weakness. People who love Bernie will like this article’s portrayal of some one so true to his belief that compromise is not a consideration. I think Bernie’s loyal fans love him all the more for that attitude. Non hardcore Sanders fans who like some but not all aspects of Bernie’s positions are unlikely to join the movement because of the uncompromising attitude.
In my opinion Sanders and his campaign should be listening to non Bernie Bros feedback and adjusting where appropriate. I thought when Rachel Maddow brought up the fact that the campaign is not expanding that Bernie avoided the issue. He went into how many people came to a rally in San Jose and probably worked in that he’s a Democratic socialist who scares the Democratic establishment. He could have asked her why she felt that way instead.
60
@Javaforce Rachel Maddow is a journalist. Providing political candidates with advice is not her job.
4
i don't know if he'll win the democratic nomination, but i'd look forward to him on the same stage at trump.
not sure i'd call it a debate tho.
22
@brupic I think we could simply call it entertainment. :)
@brupic and i look forward to biden at the same stage
@Henry i'm not expressing a desire for sanders over biden. strictly on personalities.
1
So the man who has difficulty communicating and working with others wants to be president? Really? I admire Bernie, but he does not possess the skill set for the job. The presidency is about dealing with people you dislike and making compromises; it's about being interrupted--constantly--by things that take you away from work you'd rather be doing; it's about sacrificing yourself for others. Temperament is crucial. The American people don't like sourpusses. I really do not understand why Bernie wants to be president; I don't think he would enjoy it.
265
@Carol The article talks about his abrasiveness but doesn’t say anything about difficulty working with people. Some of America’s most successful leaders were and are not particularly friendly people in private, especially those seeking high political office. Look at Caro’s depiction of LBJ- someone who would definitely not be described as “nice” but who probably passed more landmark legislation that any president since. It’s a sign of determination and high standards, of the drive to accomplish what has to be done to fix this country. If he’s stoic at times it’s because there is a mountain of odds stacked against working people and someone has to face the challenge like the serious threat it is.
99
@Liam LBJ's gift was the ability to compromise--in Congress, he transformed this gift into an art. Sometimes he did it by bullying, sometimes by cajoling or bargaining. He was often "not nice," but he knew how to incorporate the wishes and needs of others into his own worldview--not because he was an idealist, but because he wanted to get things done. The article suggests strongly that Bernie is very bad at all of that--of even making the small talk essential to political deal-making. I honestly don't see how someone so uncompromising and so uncomfortable with viewpoints other than his own can truly be an effective politician.
61
@Liam Actually, I think being abrasive inherently makes a person hard to work with. It is human nature to avoid people who are not warm or reasonably compromising and may be quite demanding. I think Bernie would be very hard on his staff and would lose personnel regularly.
I'm not sure the comparison to LBJ is apt. LBJ was actually a charmer on a social level. (Southern hospitality and all.) But when it came to politics, he was hard-nosed and could pressure people to side with him. That was his success. Because people knew him to have a cordial side, they realized the pressure was only politics and didn't take it personally. LBJ also knew how to wield power and strategize. He had many skills that made him a productive President.
43
The young people of the US are going to cause a much-needed revolution in the USA, and Berne Sanders is their enabler.
Electing Sanders will not be the end, it will just be the end of the beginning.
49
I hope you're right. They need to show up to these upcoming primaries in unprecedented numbers first.
23
@Greg Well, Greg, those young people under 30 aren't going to the polls to vote for their hero. In no Super Tuesday state was their participation higher than 15%. In California, it was 5% . What if there was a revolution an no one showed up?
10
@Greg
"The young people of the US are going to cause a much-needed revolution in the USA, and Berne Sanders is their enabler."
I am a strong Bernie supporter and donor, since 2015. I truly, truly hope you are right. Young people are full of energy and enthusiasm and love Bernie.
Somehow the energy and enthusiasm dissipate on election day and they can't find their way to the polls.
It's sad.
6
I agree with some of his key positions but this article explains why he has not accomplished any concrete legislation, although he has shifted the debate among Democrats leftward, helping Trump. He is too insistent on being pure, so he is not effective.
When will we see an analysis of why his boasts on hugely boosting voter turnout, especially among the young, have so far proven false?
94
@DSM14 That part didn't make sense to me. Some Congressmen call him not especially successful, while others say there's resentment because he successfully pushed his ammendments through? Who's right?
Fact checkers answered that question: It's true that "Bernie Sanders passed more roll call amendments in a Republican Congress than any other member."
So, those who smear him as not being succesful are lieing.
1
@Gray Goods The amendments were meaningless, unless you can name many--or even one--during his very long career that had major or even moderate impact. He is disliked because the amendments were just ego/publicity ploys.
1
Bernie is in love with his parallel world of Socialist Revolution.
He is relentless and authentic in who he is.
He has always been this way, from what I can tell.
Many of his followers, like those of any guru, worship the ground he walks on.
Thankfully, he will not get anywhere near the White House.
109
Keep on enjoying the greatest healthcare rip-off in the world, Simon Sez .... while the rest of the world live their lives in healthcare peace.
18
@Simon Sez He's the bedrock of a future socialist revolution this country badly needs
2
@Simon Sez
People do not worship him like a guru. They are bowled over that any politician could walk his own path on behalf of the people who are left-behind and the planet that is gasping for air.
We are all so used to the phony fronts that smile and say the right thing and then vote for the bankers that we can't see an FDR when he is standing in front of us.
1
What I hate about politicians is that too many of them are frequently inconsistent about the positions they take. They are clever, smooth talkers who manage to dance around any question or subject so that you have no idea where they really stand. Some of it likely comes from not wanting to offend some of the public some of the time while still being able to make points with their political party and ultimately ensure re-election; the result often a bunch of words strung together without meaning. I never cease to be amazed at the easy flow of words that say absolutely nothing in response to a direct question. Bernie Sanders does not play political games. He is intense and a maybe a little crabby, but he is in earnest, straightforward and consistent in his message and his beliefs; qualities to be admired.
221
@Lorrie However being inflexible is not a virtue. And too many of his enthralled supporters seem to erase his positions on gun control. However the objective should be to accomplish something positive not just to keep repeating the same speech.
32
@Lorrie I have watched a few extended interviews of Bernie in which he has been evasive in answering a number of questions. He resorts to his worn-out talking points instead of answering the questions. That was one thing that Pete Buttigieg did NOT do. He always gave a specific answer to every question.
22
@Lorrie Have you listen to a Mayor Pete interview? He answers questions thoughtfully, doesn't veer into talking point or some version of his stump speech. So Bernie is not unique, really.
8
Electing a president is not a personality contest - a high school contest for the “most popular.” It’s about intelligence, character and leadership. George W. Bush, “the guy you wanted to have a beer with”, was elected, started the most disastrous war conceivable resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. He was the second worst president in our history. The less “likable” candidate, Al Gore (who actually won) would not have started the war and would have put us on the path to fighting climate change instead. The entire process for electing a president, and people’s choices, have become superficial and idiotic, resulting in the worst candidates.
357
@Sam Kanter
Electing a president is a personality contest. That’s how Trump won. They say Kennedy won because he looked better on TV. It shouldn’t be a personality contest. But it is. So that has to be taken into account. You can’t govern if you can’t get elected.
12
@Sam Kanter Very well said, as I’m reading it by flashlight, hiding under my bed. Is it safe to come out yet?
4
@Sam Kanter Most Americans now are all about celebrity. I'm almost 69, but I remember a class in graduate school where there professor claimed that name recognition was the greatest predictor of electability. Clinton and Obama may have shown that not entirely true, but here we are, in the age of celebrity. Note the many people who have done nothing except show up on television and the internet; ie, the Kardashians and Ms Hilton.
5
I believe I read that Congressman Jim Clyburn said that Senator Sanders never asked him for an endorsement. If your fight is for justice, it begins and ends with those of African-American descent. And in South Carolina no less. I am proud to see my friends rise.
24
@Charles Egleston No, Rachel Maddow in her recent interview raised the question of Clyburn not endorsing Bernie, and Bernie, after genuinely and generously praising Clyburn and work they'd done together, said he wouldn't have asked for his endorsement. Bernie obviously respected Mr. Clyburn for his political beliefs, which he knew were more consistent with Biden's. Maybe it was a mistake for Bernie not to ask for Clyburn's endorsement but I'm absolutely sure it wasn't because Bernie doesn't care about African Americans. If anything, Bernie's campaign has been totally aware of the importance of reaching African Americans and other people of color, especially following 2016. And maybe you haven't seen the pictures of Bernie as a young man getting arrested protesting segregation in Chicago? He hasn't changed.
47
@Charles Egleston It is likely he knew that Biden was in line for the endorsement, and did not want the added bad press of being rejected by the congressman. If there is no political upside to asking, why ask?
10
Seriously, the Bernie in that video would win the Democratic election and the General, hands down. That video is a model to build off of.
70
@Aaron I think you're right.
1
Yes, Bernie's personality is a problem. He should have never challenged that voter to a push-up contest, or repeatedly called other voters names, or yelled incoherently at others before telling them to vote for Trump. Oh, right, that was Joe Biden.
456
@Kyle
No, Joe Biden is the guy who gives strangers in difficult situations his phone number and invites them to call.
18
@Ted Christopher
Both can be true. Any idea how many have called and who answered the phone?
Even though I think Joe Biden has a better chance to beat Trump, I still LOVE Bernie Sanders and thank God for all that he has given America.
28
@BQ Just curious. What is it that Bernie has "given" America, beyond all those years in the Senate where he hasn't actually passed much in the way of legislation?
12
@Kathy He pressured Jeff Bezos to give Amazon's employees a $15 per hour wage. Meanwhile, the other 99 senators never passed any legislation beyond the $7.25 per hour minimum wage. So, who's the better senator. I ask? That's just one example. Legislation is overrated. Real results are not.
6
Seems like in the last 10 days there have been a spate of negative NYT articles about Sen. Sanders with little positive. At the same time there has been little negative and much positive about VP Biden. Just doesn't seem like I'm getting balanced coverage but maybe I missing something?
591
@jd - I am right there with you. Maybe we're both missing the same hi-jinx that dogged Senator Sanders throughout the 2016 race. The DNC and mass media were opposed to him throughout.
Sad to say, I firmly believe that if Sen. Sanders had been treated fairly, we would be in a much different place today.
108
@jd Maybe the stories are telling the truth?
20
@Cindy Please, enough of this whining. Sanders is treated fairly - he (and his supporters) make their own problems.
35
How can you not love this man?
Honest, hardworking, loving, deeply caring individual who is gruff and genuine.
No harm will come from this man to anyone who has a sense of decency.
He embodies all the positive aspects of Old Testament prophets whose stories I lovingly absorbed from my dear departed grandmother whose family partly survived the Holocaust thanks to their musical prodigy (alas I didn’t inherit it but my lovely daughters did).
This article, despite needling as usual, manages to convince many that Bernie is a wonderful human being. Not Sydney Ember’s intention but Freud works in mysterious ways.
Bernie, we love you. May the Lord give you a long a healthy life and bless us with your presidency of this nation which has lost its way.
Shabbat Shalom.
366
@Blunt I am absolutely taken with your comparison of Bernie to an Old Testament prophet. Moral courage, commitment, ability to accurately read the times, and a singleness of purpose for the common good. Really apt. Thank you.
32
@Blunt
"How can one not love this man?"
How?
I look at his certitude in his absolute righteousness; I see his egomania; I see an old man who rarely smiles; I recall what he had to say about the college classroom (it was "boring and irrelevant"); I see someone who is unwilling to compromise with anyone.
Believe me. It's very easy.
25
Shabbat Shalom, Blunt.
19
This article was enlightening. If Bernie were to win the nomination I would certainly vote for him but seriously doubt he could beat Trump. His inflexibility and stubbornly held convictions would make him easy fodder for Trump to paint him as too extreme or a commie.
41
Republicans and Trump are going to attack all Dem policies as "socialist". As a lifelong libertarian socialist of the Chomsky variety, I can assure you Bernie is not, at least legislatively, truly a socialist. For example, he has made no mention of the abolition of private property nor called for workers to control the means of production. He is an FDR New Deal Democrat, if FDR didn't need to be pressured by unions to fight for workers. He is very moderately left, but the center of American politics has been driven so far right in the last 40 years that he can successfully be painted as an "extremist" as long as his wealthy (rep & dem) opponents leave out the accurate "relative" qualifier.
Socialism no longer scares many Americans and among the under 40 crowd, it excites and inspires them. Running a campaign that furthers Dem's history of betrayal of the working class (something workers are increasingly conscious of), just so Trump's already baseless claims of "socialism" carry less heft is cowardly, lacks integrity, betrays workers and will guarantee a loss in November.
...As if Biden's obviously progressing dementia won't do that by itself.
8
How can you not love this man?
Honest, hardworking, loving, deeply caring individual who is gruff and genuine.
No harm will come from this man to anyone who has a sense of decency.
He embodies all the positive aspects of Old Testament prophets whose stories I lovingly absorbed from my dear departed grandmother whose family partly survived the Holocaust thanks to their musical prodigy (alas I didn’t inherit it but my lovely daughters did).
This article, despite needling as usual, manages to convince many that Bernie is a wonderful human being. Not Sydney Ember’s intention but Freud works in mysterious ways.
Bernie, we love you. May the Lord give you a long a healthy life and bless us with your presidency of this nation which has lost its way.
Shabbat Shalom.
17:22 NYC
41
Hardworking? He’s never had a job that his pay depended on producing anything of value yet he’s a multi millionaire
3
@Jeffrey Lance
In 2016 he wrote a book that became an international best seller. That is how he became a millionaire.
Oh great! We need another grumpy, irritable non-empathetic old guy (I’m 74) in the White House. The article demonstrates a disconnect between the “real” Sanders and the Sanders “brand”.
The real Sanders sounds like a very difficult person; one who is convinced that he’s always right, always the smartest, never makes mistakes, etc. The brand that he puts forth indicates a guy who wants to help the little guy and the middle class (he’s neither); a guy who’s filled with sympathy and empathy.
Something here doesn’t add up.
60
@Patrick alexander
Vermont certainly loves him. And he's doing pretty well out there despite some heavy resistance, so I guess some others do, too.
14
@Patrick alexander
"Non-empathetic"? To whom are you referring?
3
Once again Bernie is working to elect Trump. It's Trump or Biden. Bernie cannot win.
27
If a female candidate behaved liked this they would call her "difficult". Just ask Elizabeth Warren. Have you read the way she was described? Hard, shrill, bad personality, unlikable. Yet, never was she describe as hard to work with, demanding or unintelligent.
Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, is just a lovable old curmudgeon. It's OK to be a grumpy guy, but a woman, not so much.
352
@cl - Actually they say these things about Sanders. I don’t know how times I’ve heard detractors complain that he’s too difficult and that he’s yells and waves his arms around too much. It’s a relief to finally see an article that paints him as a human being.
14
@cl
I guess you've missed all the mudslinging at the screaming, devil Sanders, even here on the NYT (did you see Brooks' column last week, for example?).
This is a human interest feature and is actually not very nice in some ways, but better than he generally gets. I'm certain that Warren, who--while absolutely experiencing sexism in her run (America's truly not ready to elect a woman--not something I say with joy) has received plaudits and fawning praise as she exits--would be characterized more flatteringly than not.
8
@cl Elizabeth Warren claimed Native American identity to advance her career for over two decades.
1
Another autocrat. Like Trump only socialist instead. Non-collaborative. Proven.
31
@Voxhumana No, Bernie's just the opposite of Trump, who's a true genius at fooling people about who he really is. Bernie's just a lousy actor, he doesn't schmooze well. But Trump has a world-class capacity to connect emotionally, even with his audience's unconscious, It doesn't matter that he lies constantly in carrying out his ruthless anti-working class agenda. And although I absolutely love Seth Meyers and how he recently mocked Trump beginning a speech, almost as if he was asleep, I was shocked to see what I realized was an even scarier example of Trump's ability to hypnotize his audience. Trump speaks his audience's language with their vocabulary and has an unerring sense of how to draw them in using the basic ingredient of drama: a fight. He connects effortlessly with people on a primitive level. There's a concept in Italian comedy where the white clown portrays our intellectual selves with all the rules we've been taught and the red clown acts out all our infantile wishes. Trump speaks to this primitive part of all of us.
Trump began the speech like a hypnotic induction, slowly as if he was going to sleep, bringing along the audience as he probably put them into a light trance. At that point a hypnotist can make instructions to a person's unconscious outside their conscious awareness and ability to counter them. I'm sure all those years on the Apprentice helped. Trump's a natural actor, which is what makes him so incredibly dangerous. Reagan was too.
6
@Voxhumana Do you know the difference between a socialist and a social democrat?
I really don't think a prickly loner is what we need right now in the White House.
54
Sounds like an actual human being. What a relief it would be. Compared to "nice" Joe Biden who has given us a long succession of wars, Clarence Thomas, drones, and corporate malfeasance.
184
@Craig Lucas And what exactly has Bernie accomplished? Not speeches but legislation passed?
16
@kstewart33c
Passing legislation isn't the metric. Passing good legislation is or blocking bad legislation.
What I found interesting was the dig on Sanders from a senator that admits there is a club where they plan their votes to appear a certain way and Bernie is seen as not in it. They resent him for not playing the games they play and yet he is ejected into office.
25
@kstewart33c
I suggest you look it up, rather than repeat a talking point.
If I give you the direct link, it may take moderators too long to check it (not a complaint, they are right to do it).
Congress.gov
Pages upon pages of sponsored and cosponsored bills; and don't neglect the disastrous policies he has resisted.
2
In other words, he’s a jerk. Being an effective President not only requires working with the legislative branch, it requires managing a sprawling federal bureaucracy. Anyone who has ever had the kind of boss described in this article knows exactly how poorly it would turn out.
60
I get cranky too sometimes.
14
I hardly could believe that I was reading this in the NYT. Instead of Bernie the one eyed horned monster we got to see Bernie, the grandfather, the dedicated public servant and the slavishly intense thinking man. We could do a lot worse than to have n intelligent, demanding, thinking human being in the WH. Now wouldn't that be a welcome change. And if I remember correctly Hillary was just "likable enough".
83
Gosh, all the things making people gush in the comments are exactly the kind of things people pointed to making Amy to be some horrible mean boss. This sexism is infuriating to say the least. And this has to be the last time I want to hear about hailing from Brooklyn to be some kind of fast-pass to a mean and foul-mouthed personality (got it Schumer?). Give me a break. Try smiling. It doesn't cost a thing and makes people working for you feel appreciated.
36
I find this claim disturbing. Amy has been accused of physical assaulting her staff — she reportedly threw a stapler at one of her staffers. I think that it’s offensive to equate the two.
I would argue that the coverage of Amy’s abuses has been vastly underreported, relative to the presentation of Bernie’s behavior.
1
@Greenfield
Seriously? Amy actually throws stuff at her staff. When she announced she was running for president, people quit.
1
Please do not making electing a president a decision akin to deciding the person one would most want to drink a beer with.
That was a question the media put forward in 2000 and got Bush Jr.
29
Bernie is the opposite of the slick backslapping superficial politician.
I mean, the man actually told a crying baby to shut up
I love it
35
He is human. And a special one too.
Somehow he has to convey to his followers to NOT be rude nasty talk down bullies on the internet. We know those nasty folks are not Russian trolls but could be anonymous supporters of Bernie’s who rabidly follow him. Bernie needs to send a message to them loud and clear once for all yo! shut that nastiness. Period.
16
@petey tonei
What makes you so sure they're not plants ('Russian trolls')?
Dead on Arrival.
8
I thought that was you. I guess not :-)
1
Well this is a thinly veiled extreme personal attack on Bernie Sanders. I mean, WOW... I'd like to see the article about Biden's idiosyncrasies, his angry moments and poor diet choices. Better yet let's hear about Biden's sexual assault allegations, his constant inappropriate touching of young girls, and the talk by those close to him about his declining mental health. Oh, of course you won't cover that because he's your guy, the establishment pick. But we can talk about Bernie's "the crotchety impatience ... dandruff-flecked-sport-coat-crooked-specs-flyaway-hair blur of the man".
158
Timing of this story? Calibrated just right. He’s kinda mean but he likes kids. Maybe you just shouldn’t do this kind of story, particularly now. You look like you have a dog in this fight.
43
@Billy Evans Why are so many Sanders supporters o sensitive about this article? I read it as largely positive. It worries me, because it seems to indicate a kind of hero worship among Sanders supporters that is not healthy.
7
I'm not interested in fake appeals to emotion in my president. I don't need Uncle Joe to tell me everything's going to be okay after he's eviscerated the middle class with bills he's led. I don't need a dotard to tell me everything's going to be okay when current circumstances are anarchic.
I just want a person who will stand his ground for the people of this country. It's been so long since we've truly had that.
I call that decency.
159
@Andrew The East coast- populist vibe is strong! No, you have Trump. Standing “his” ground. Do you need another four years?
1
Nice try, NYT.
Establishment: 0, Sanders: 1.
You’ve painted the picture of an authentic, focused, lifelong fighter. As Morpheus said of Neo in the climax of the third Matrix, “He fights for us.”
63
@Jason That is not how he comes across in the article. Why are so many Sanders supporters o sensitive about this article? I read it as largely positive. It worries me, because it seems to indicate a kind of hero worship among Sanders supporters that is not healthy.
10
The loner type seems like the type who would make a terrible president.
17
@J.Abroni Dwayne Johnson So how has a "loner" been elected to city mayor, Congress and Senate so many times? Please explain.
My granddaughter spent a significant amount of time with Bernie after winning his essay contest. He was warm, attentive and unpretentious.
He suffers no fools, to be sure. Which is why he should be president. The country is infested with fools.
380
Best comment i read here.
Not Suffering Fools.
Best criterion for electing presidents.
Would disqualify most presidents not only in the US but in the world!
8
Is there an article Joe Biden literally yelling and saying he's not gonna put up with being cut off at a debate? Or about how he gets frustrated when he can't finish a thought because his mind has degraded? Honestly asking. I think theres a difference betwixt being passionate about beliefs and feeling like you didn't get enough on your turn.
44
Multiple smear-type “news” articles about Bernie these last couple days makes the term “corporate news media” seem more and more obvious to any person with a brain looking in. Why not do a few article’s on Biden’s clear failing mental ability to at least seem fair and cover both candidates critically? He is very clearly sunsetting into senility and nobody is covering it.
126
@Ellen Thanks for saying this Ellen. Biden will not get scrutinized because he is supposed to save us from Dump. If he wins the nomination I will vote for him but I worry he will lose. It's such a scary world that everyone thinks the safe choice is actually safe. For everyone's sake I hope that is true but I have zero faith it is.
22
@Ellen I read the article differently. It seemed to illuminate his character without denigrating it.
6
@Ellen Watch Hannity's show tonight. It's a foretaste of everything Trump will throw at Biden. He attacked his falling intellectual abilities, his confusion, his incoherent sentences, the accusations of corruption with his son, his record, his past racist and sexist comments and on and on. If Biden is nominated, Trump has a good chance of being re-elected.
10
You make Bernie sound like a real curmudgeon. I'm
not buying it. Maybe you should depict Hillary as PROFESSIONAL BITTER PERSON. Even when you say something remotely complimentary about Bernie its laced
with poison . Who cares? Are you trying to say that everyone in Congress is wonderful except Bernie. God, you guys at NYT
don't understand the nature of the loyalty of millions
of Bernie supporters. You give Hillary a pass. Why don't you
call out her failure to win? She refuses to look at herself.
Why don't you do profile on her and her lack of responsibility
for her loss. She blames Comey,the Russians, Bernie--
everybody but herself. Bernie is a person of integrity.
We have been economically decimated by the trade agreements Hillary and Bill worked on together. Write about
how the jobs pay nothing, education and healthcare are
prohibitive. Give me a break about Bernie. Go after the elites.
59
@Terri Monley
Canada has also been gutted by trade agreements.
They only serve the global elite.
3
@Terri Monley News flash, Terri. Hillary isn't running.
1
So the.Sanders campaign allows The NY Times to report a Puff Piece; helping him when he’s almost out of gas.
5
Perhaps the NYT times should consider writing pieces on why the United States stands alone in not guaranteeing healthcare despite its wealth, rather than Rita Skeeter-style exposés.
56
@DasMupie They do lots of those stories- you should read it more. Doesn't bother you that his long years in congress he has no substantial legislative accomplishments and has shown to a shred of executive ability?
2
@Elizabeth
Wrong. Bernie's nickname in the Senate is "The Ammendment King" because of his ability to work with Republicans in passing legislation.
3
@Elizabeth
Don't repeat talking points. Please look it up.
Congress.gov -- the Internet can be our friend.
2
Let's hope nytimes endorses Biden soon
That could help Bernie..
15
@Mike kelly They and WaPo and MSNBC endorsed Joe Biden a long time ago. Just read the headlines and between the lines.
1
The NYT won’t talk about how Biden lied about being arrested in South Africa. Or really any of his so-called ‘gaffes’. Or his refusal to do interviews w even softball lobbing journalists like Rachel Maddow. But, they will say Bernie is a big meanie with big meanie supporters. There really is no saving us, is there?
90
@JM Funny you have that take, because I read it as a positive, if clear eyed and honest, portrayal.
On the day after an extremely serious white nationalist threat at a Sanders rally (which the Times has apparently not deemed important enough to cover), they run an article with an obvious dog-whistle about a Jewish candidate for president being the "quintessential Brooklyn diner patron." Shameful.
65
@Melissa Lambert
Thank you!
2
This is... so different than the way Amy Kloubachar was covered when stories emerged about her being a "tough boss." Everyone's so much more apologetic for Bernie, who sounds like a much bigger jerk to work for than she ever was.
46
@Kls
Amy Klobuchar totally got a pass for her misdeeds, as far as I'm concerned. She throws binders and staplers at her staff, and for this the media calls her a "tough boss."
And THEN, people complain there is a double standard at play. There is - in favor of Klobuchar. Can you imagine a male candidate throwing staplers at somebody's head?
1
@Kls
There's a mighty big difference between a boss who's 'tough but fair' versus 'tough and abusive.'
This article addresses some aspects of fitness to serve as president. The president is the chief executive officer of the US. A number of the personality traits described in this article are counterproductive to being an effective chief executive and some might consider them disqualifying. That does not mean he has not served an effective role in our government and could not continue to do so in some capacity.
An aspect of fitness not directly discussed is his health. I am particularly concerned about a lack of forthrightness about his health status and absence of discussion of the prognosis for completing his term in a greater than 75 yo man who has sustained a heart attack in the past year. What is the greater probability- that he will complete his term if elected or his vice president? If the probability is the vice president is more likely to complete his term, Mr. Sanders should not be running.
22
@mjs79
Total "health" is both physical and mental. A good part of mental health is the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
In this regard I'd say Bernie Sanders is far more healthy than many other candidates, and the most able to make the country healthy.
35
@mjs79 I agree - I am very sympathetic to his policies but the more I see of him the more I am concerned about his personality, which seems to that of a great campaigner, but not one at all conducive to governing at the executive level. This is why I was a Warren supporter.
8
@mjs79 FDR didn't enjoy such great health, either. And he wasn't perfect. Saw us through the Depression and most of WWII anyway.
12
This was a humanizing profile of Sanders. He'd certainly make for an effective member of Biden's cabinet, maybe health care, or education, if he could only get over thinking that working as part of a team was somehow beneath him. In fact Bernie's legacy would benefit enormously if he took up the challenge of doing something of concrete and lasting benefit to the average American, besides which doing so would further add weight to his eminently sensible ideas for a more just society.
16
Ah, yes. Humanizing. Because people always use words like uncompromising, crotchety, impatient, caricature, insensitive, abrasive, and loner to humanize someone.
33
"whether he was simply too abrasive to get elected."
Answer: Yes.
Unpleasant people have greater difficulty getting the cooperation of others on the practical level, and that's why personality is important in politics. It really is less about an "image," probably, for most people, but their similar experience with angry people and how other people also avoid and dread such people.
There's a real difference between passion and hostility. It is not my perception that he does understand the difference, or perhaps he simply doesn't care, but lots of other people do care, including members of Congress.
59
Yep. Worked for Donnie Trump :-)
9
@Blunt The big difference is Trump doesn't care about getting anything accomplished (except to expand his and his family's bank accounts). I thinks Sanders does care passionately, but he has few solid accomplishments in legislation or policy (compare to Warren with her mum shorter congressional career!) and has shown no executive ability.
7
So, to summarize, tough on adults and likes children. Loves solitude but doesn't like a luxury.
And always working.
Maybe this is the kind of president we need. Someone who will work for America's children.
949
@mempko He abandoned his own son. Hardly father of the year.
44
@Ellen Guest
Not so. He's always been very involved in Levi's life.
47
@mempko "And always working."
All that hard work in congress and the Senate for decades and he got almost zilch done. Really nothing at all. Maybe he should actually work harder at his day job instead of having his staff falsely claim to reporters that Bernie is a self starter. The evidence shows he isn't.
36
I wish he could have found it in himself to withdraw after the heart incident, and supported Warren. She could have been the nominee - then paired with Harris or Abrams, we'd have the most radical change-agent ticket in history, and a winning one.
117
Why are the people that you mention than Bernie?
Everyone is a heartbeat away from death. To me, Bernie looks pretty good. It is what is inside the brain and heart that matters.
38
@Sara
I like Elizabeth Warren very much but the presence of another progressive candidate staying in the race is a poor excuse for why she didn't gain any momentum. She didn't even carry her own state of Massachusetts for crying out loud, that's on her not anyone else.
16
@Sandy
From what I understand, it may also be on residents of MA who don't want to lose her as their Senator.
3
Bernie is an interesting character. This nice article did him justice.
25
I wouldn't mind having a beer with Bernie, but no way I'd want to be his roommate. I have a feeling that a little bit of Bernie goes a long way.
56
I guess when you are honest and genuine, you see an unvarnished persona. Sadly, it’s rare. It’s his honesty that makes him the leader we need, but apparently aren’t ready for....
187
@G
Many of us outside the New York Times' bubble are wildly enthusiastic for Senator Sanders. People here in Chula Vista, near the border, were thrilled when he spoke there in January of this year. In 2016, my daughter attended a rally for him in Portland -24,000 excited and thrilled fans.
16,000 here in Los Angeles the other night out for Sanders....you just don't hear much about this in the pages of the New York Times.
3
this is NOT a criticism of Sanders, but the same things reported about Amy Klobuchar (an outburst at an aid) were not considered charming or a sign of commitment or passion. The subtle and not so subtle double standard is what women cannot seem to overcome. it's there all the time.
711
@nyc high school
What an absurd false equivalency. She chucked a stapler at an aid’s head.
130
@nyc high school
Exactly! The mysogeny is insidious and quite frankly shocking in its continued existence.
15
@nyc high school This is an intellectually bankrupt comparison.
Sanders is described here as gruff and demanding - note the line "serious outbursts are rare".
Klobuchar, conversely had the following description (in NYT reporting): "former aides say she was not just demanding but often dehumanizing".
Go read the NYT reporting on Klobuchar and compare it to what you read here. They're not close. I would vote for Klobuchar if she were still in the game today, but comparisons like these diminish your point.
46
Of course Sanders can be a little prickly and difficult--would anyone honestly believe otherwise? I see no issue with it.
It is interesting to note, however, that Ms. Klobuchar was badly injured by allegations of nearly the same kind of conduct. As a woman, she was not given the same latitude. I was not even a Klobuchar supporter but the sexism faced by all candidates in this race must be alleviated.
418
@Tim she did throw a stapler at someone's head??
25
@Tim
To be fair, though, the Klobuchar stories involve her actually throwing objects - binders, cell phones, etc. - directly at staff. I don't know that people would be very forgiving of Bernie if he was accused of throwing things at people.
122
@ck Of course it would be excused. And by the way, it wasn’t a stapler. She threw a binder in someone’s direction, which is of course unacceptable.
I 110% guarantee if Sanders did that, it would be covered as something he did just one time, so it shouldn’t be considered a core part of his personality. He’s “passionate.” A “perfectionist.” “Demanding.” “Relentless”.
A very different set of words comes to mind when a woman does it.
11
Determination to do good in the world, to leave it a bit better than it was when you got there, is not a bad goal in life at all.
And in respect to a Presidential candidate, it is a pretty good reason to elect a person.
Vote.
173
A candidate shows anger about issues that are deserving of anger, and that's a problem?
251
Of course not. But hey, at least it is a piece of writing that shows his incredible humanity even if it is embedded in cynical asides.
12
@Kyle Deserving of anger? When a staff member doesn't step and fetch it fast enough?
3
@Kyle All anger no action is not leadership.
1
Sorry, but we don’t need a fanatic in the White House. We need a problem-solver who can represent and work on behalf of a majority of Americans. At a time when the rhetoric from the White House is increasingly erratic, conspiratorial, and unhinged, we are longing for someone who can bring back calm and sanity.
That person is clearly Joe Biden.
90
@CP That might make sense, if Biden wasn't in obvious, severe mental decline.
62
@CP
Clearly? Clearly, you say? Woah.
Joe Biden wanted to cut social security - and on multiple occasions(!), along with medicare and medicaid. He voted for draconian, mass-incarceration crime bills. He voted - he promoted! - the Iraq war. He sides with credit card companies and big finance in general.
One has to wonder just what exactly does it mean to be a Democrat with a record like that?
And he brings serious baggage to a national race against Trump. Can Biden seriously take any moral high ground against corruption, or against Trump's corrupt dealings on Ukraine? Biden has to keep his mouth shut on that one.
Typical centrist sellout. Weak candidate. And once again, despite the obvious, the Democratic party insists on sending Republican Lite to defeat the Republicans. It's astonishing to watch it unfold before our eyes, but alas, we have seen it over and over again.
For the love of God, please do not, once again, insist on bringing a knife to a gunfight. We lose every time with a strategy like that.
140
Yeah, we need sanity. We don't need the candidate who is increasingly incoherent, who challenges voters to push-up contests, repeatedly yells and calls other voters names, who can't seem to remember who or where he is, or even what he is doing. The idea that Biden represents sanity is hilarious.
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An interesting insight. Far from tte image of an angry, obtuse man, this shows that Sanders is more like a man so dedicated to his ideas that he had a hard time understanding not everybody is ready to work as hard.
Maybe we'd need more politicians like him: spending most of their energy on their ideas and ways to achieve them, instead of projecting a soft - and often fake - image of themselves.
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Oh well, keep them coming no matter how unflattering these pieces may be. In the end, these articles will still reflect the real Bernie, the true human being behind the critiques.
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Mr. Sanders preaches a politics of love and acceptance, beseeching his supporters to love each others' families as they do their own and fight for others as they would themselves. Going to Bernie's rallies earlier this year, his compassion was visible: he comforted veterans with no insurance, he embraced mothers who lost their sons to insulin rationing, and he spoke to the fears of generation that will likely die of climate change.
I am looking forward to the NYT doing an article on Joe Biden accusing a voter of being a "dog-faced pony soldier" who didn't know what a caucus was and giving rambling, incoherent answers to questions about questions vital to his campaign. Mr. Biden has a deep sympathy, however, for insurance companies and fracking interests, seen in the bump in both of those stocks after his Super Tuesday performance.
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@Thomas Watson Good points! I would very much like to see any articles about the points you mention. Let's face it, the playing field is so lopsided on the front pages of NYT.
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@Thomas Watson Yes, calling a young woman "dog-faced" is really not what we want to see. It makes me wonder if we did a quiz on "who said it" if we would be able to tell which candidate actually did.
I'm a little exhausted by the personality/electability focus of this election cycle. I feel like it's one thing if someone has an angry outburst due to a momentary frustration. Is that not human? But the worst treatment of one of the current candidates of another person? I think of Biden questioning Anita Hill. That's beyond just a "mean" personality because it reveals what he believes in, deep down, and it shows who he is not fighting for.
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@Thomas Watson I second a desire to see balanced coverage from the Times. Great points!
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The spirit of compromise does not, apparently, live in Bernie. Unfortunately it is a fundamental skill required in working through other people. Whether I agree with his "democratic" socialism (I don't) or Trump's national form of socialism/autocracy (I don't), neither has the leadership skills we need.
We are sorely in need of healing the checks and balances, and respect for the executive branch.
Socialism, always passionately professed, just wouldn't fly with a huge portion of voters, and our standard of living as well as standing overseas would take more hits. As Buffett said "who migrates to a socialist nation?" I just had a chat here at Cedars Sinai with someone who came here from a socialist nation who reinforces that observation.
Having said all this, income inequality should be corrected via the (existing) tax system. Healthcare: single payer. But compromise will be required to do any of that. And it can be done within our current system once restored to honesty and integrity.
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@CATango sure! Biden is the epitome of compromise. He is papa bear you would like to cuddle with. His toothy smiles melt hearts. He is everything Bernie isn’t, warm fuzzy cuddly gooey tickle tickle..
(Sarcasm)
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@CATango I do agree with his democratic socialism policies, but I have the same qualms about his personality as you do. I do not see Sanders being an effective executive.
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@CATango Wasn’t it Margaret Thatcher who famously said that the problem with socialism is that, eventually, it runs-out of other people’s money?
Reminds me of my grandfather. Gruff and often unfiltered, it was sometimes embarrassing to be in public with him. But he had a heart of gold. The anecdote in this column about Sanders sneaking chips to that kid is something my grandfather used to do for me all the time.
Some might see this is a hit piece on Sanders, but for me, I see it as proof that there is an unrepentant fighter for the working class in Washington. And in a political environment that seems to reward compromise and bipartisanship over principled conviction, Sanders is a breath of fresh air. And I'm not saying that compromise and bipartisanship have no place in Washington. Of course they do. But compromise in and of itself is not a virtue, and too often I see politicians take up positions out of political convenience too easily without fighting too hard for their beliefs. Case in point: Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Bernie voted against this and has been fighting for LGBT rights since the 90s, decades before it became politically safe to do so. And I respect that, I really do.
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@Vince Iwould like someone who has some actual legislative and policy accomplishments after years of being in congress - even if that means a little less "purity". I cannot see this type of personality being an effective executive - for me Sander's policies are not a problem, his personality and temperament are. He is not the one who made LBBT rights a reality.
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@Vince
Puuhlease... private planes have another name. Bernie takes corporate jets everywhere. And his air conditioning requirements are absurd, an enormous waste of electricity. Can he really be said to care about climate change. He expects others to sacrifice for his ideological objectives, but isn’t making any himself.
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@Vince
My grandfather did the same; although he'd pour me small glasses of whiskey instead. To his credit, he only ever sipped at it. A trait that I have (almost) never violated.
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Just as I thought. Bernie Sanders is just like the rest of us, a human being with compassion, frailties, quirky behaviors, and a love of life.
Nice article.
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I agree that Bernie is human and fully has a right to be. Just have to wonder how his character flaws would’ve been viewed had been a woman candidate instead, now that we’ve only got two old white men running for the democratic nom. I have a feeling it would be viewed significantly differently.
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@cherrylog754
And I would rather have someone fighting the good fight rather than sitting back on his laurels and making compromises on the backs of the 99%.
Speaking of which, has anyone seen Joe Biden since he became the favored candidate? I still think Americans may come to regret their choice.
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@avrds
Americans have not yet made their choice. The party has winnowed the field. Ranked choice primaries would have done a better job.
Come November the choice is clear. Unite behind the Democratic candidate or be complicit in electing Trump. Again.
If you have trouble with uniting, then instead of thinking of the Democratic candidate, think of a Trump super majority on the Supreme Court.
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