It’s hard to talk about something from 1972 in 2016; Bernie seems to be expressing the same weird-ass hippy points of view that were common back then, that we now look at as, well, weird-ass. I don’t know that I see anything in there that I would say “now there is a fundamental personality trait that makes me wary.” But to be honest, I did not read the entire 4-part blog posts. If there’s something you think is of a legitimate concern, feel free to highlight it.

I don’t think it’s fair to accuse him of his 1972 attitudes about men and women with today’s vantage point- not only has he grown as a human being in 44 years, so has our culture. It’s like if someone slams you in 44 years for something you posted on facebook today that, today, seems innocent and uncontroversial. And, I should point out, the same goes for Hillary. She was pretty clear about her opposition to gay marriage in the 1990’s, which wasn’t that long ago, yet I’m not going to trash her for that. People’s ideas on social issues and other things do evolve over time; that’s a very different beast from your core values as a person. Those are formed quite young and pretty much stay the same throughout your life. If you found me solid evidence of Sanders doing something shady, that would give me pause. If you found me evidence of the same questionable practice coming up over and over in his career, that would definitely trouble me. To be clear, I’m not looking for any tiny bit of dirt on Hillary just to make her look bad. She’s been in the public eye since 1992. I don’t think she’s any worse than most of her peers- but I would never vote for most of her peers, either. They’re just not trustworthy.

I realize there is a fundamental difference between us Bernie supporters and the Hillary folks that just might never be reconciled. You guys (to speak in general terms) are okay with the way Washington works. You’re okay with the political game, the corporate campaign donations, the whole lot of it. It’s “how things work;” you accept it and accept Hillary as a decent representative of that system. I apologize if that doesn’t describe you, but it does describe a lot of the people whom I’ve met. I’m here going “look at those Wall Street ties!” and they’re going “so what? Who cares?” If that’s the case, there’s nothing left to discuss.

The Daily News interview… sure, he didn’t come off as super-strong in certain areas because he didn’t have ready-made answers for everything. I’m sure Clinton fans are having a field day with that. Personally, I prefer an honest “I don’t know” to a shiny talking point that you’ll never be forced to stick to. I probably should have included this in the original essay, but I’ve never really believed that the office of President itself had that much power in the sense that you’re referring to. I mean, s/he has a certain amount of power, and one expects them to use that power well. The rest of their job is more about setting a tone for the country to follow. I wrote this in another response: JFK set a tone, and the country responded. Nixon set a different tone, Reagan a different tone again. Each time, America’s cultural values responded; I’m not saying the President has the power to change America just like that- it’s more like a feedback loop, but they do act as a signal booster (or stopper) for the way the country is feeling. They crystallize what’s out there, bring it into focus, and put it into speeches that Americans respond to. We haven’t really had that for a long time. Obama could have been that person, and he definitely set a tone during his campaign- but that’s where that ended. His presidency wasn’t just one of compromise- in many cases, he didn’t even bother fighting.

What I’m getting at is that I don’t expect Sanders (or Clinton) to have a perfectly-formulated solution to world problems that our previous presidents have all failed to solve, too. What I do expect is that they set the goals: here is where I want us to be. Then that they hire the right people who know more than them about specific areas, and let them work out the details. I mean, going back to JFK, do you really think he figured out how to get us on the moon? He knew nothing about aeronautics; but he made sure he hired people who did (and that’s a whole nother story!)

I don’t know if, in four years, we can actually get universal health care and free college for everyone. Seems like a stretch. But I do know that’s what we should be offering our citizens, and that other countries with less resources are able to manage it. So if Bernie can’t give you a full breakdown of how he’s going to get there, or how he’s going to untangle decades of corrupt legislation that has allowed Wall Street to get to where it is, is that a problem for you? Because it isn’t for me- I just want someone with the determination of getting there. There’s still lots of hurdles- hiring the right people is essential, and having an informed, active population of citizens who back him up is essential. He could botch it all up, fail miserably, come off as a joke. But, like, so what? With Hillary Clinton, she’s not even trying.