Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT)
It's kind of hilarious watching the media try to
wrap its collective head around the idea that of Hillary Clinton's two Democratic primary challengers, the one who's getting more traction is Sen. Bernie Sanders, not former Gov. Martin O'Malley. As Politico's Annie Karni describes the contrast:
One candidate is 73, with a shock of wispy white hair and a famously rumpled demeanor that makes him look more like a mad scientist than a politician.
The other is central casting’s image of a presidential candidate: square-jawed, athletic-looking and 52 years old — the ideal age that Fortune 500 companies look for in a CEO and that voters find appealing in a president.
But ... but ... his hair!
Karni quotes the usual assortment of anonymous "strategists," "insider" sources "with ties to the Clinton world," and one-time (but they're not saying when) Bill Clinton advisers to make the point that Hillary Clinton's campaign is more worried about Sanders than O'Malley. Like so:
Insiders familiar with the Clinton campaign’s thinking described it as “frightened” of Sanders — not that he would win the nomination, but that he could damage her with the activist base by challenging her on core progressive positions in debates and make her look like a centrist or corporatist. The source described the campaign as “pleased,” at least, that O’Malley and Sanders will split the anti-Clinton vote. A Clinton spokesman declined to comment.
It shouldn't really be breaking news that the guy
polling at 15 percent in the Iowa caucus is more threatening than the guy polling at 1.8 percent, but such is the power of media assumptions about what a presidential candidate looks like, I guess.
