Bernie Sander's campaign has many things Hillary Clinton's does not. He has the vehement support of younger voters, the lack of a super pac, and an overall charism that Clinton unfortunately cannot match. However as the presidential race continues, it is becoming more evident that perhaps Sanders has lost focus. For months we have heard about Clinton's Wall Street ties (which are true) and her not so honest past.
Sanders has unleashed attack after attack on Clinton, exposing a significant weakness to his overall credibility as a candidate in the process. Zeroing in on Clinton's flaws does nothing to benefit his campaign and if anything reveals the unsettling reality about Sanders which is quite possibly that he doesn't have the experience to lead. Overall, I find myself generally frustrated with this election (not going to even mention the Republican party's woes) because I am not entirely adamant about Bernie or Hillary. Undoubtedly there is an appeal to Bernie, but he is advocating a series of disillusioned ideas. He doesn't display any concrete proposals on many major issues, which is my first reservation. For the campaign's entirety, Sanders has remained mum on these pressing topics, especially when it comes to financial reform and foreign policy.
An example of this is one Sander's signature phrases, "Break up the big banks," which holds an agreeable charm. But how would Sanders successfully do this? How would he change almost the entire landscape of the American financial system with no setbacks? When Sanders is actually asked about how he plans to carry out on his promises, he provides pretty one-dimensional and ambiguous answers. What also frustrates me about Sanders is he is straying away from what makes him such a great candidate and feeding into the Clinton bashing. Recently, he called out Clinton as an asset to the fossil fuel industry. Taking cheap and dishonest shots is not what Sanders is all about.
Say what you want about Clinton, but at least I as a voter can somewhat expect the direction the country and many of its issues would take under her leadership. I can't say the same about Sanders, his policies are vague and the reality is he is too extreme of a candidate. Although Clinton is leading over Sanders, I don't want to see him let that get to him. What makes Sanders so great is his resilience and that he operates unconventionally. A large part of Sander's character relies on the fact he cannot be bought. However lately the Sanders I am seeing is falling back on those characteristics.
Even if he loses the Democratic bid, I still wish to follow a candidate who stands by his beliefs and doesn't let outside factors get to him. I want to hear more about how perilous the issue of climate change is, how ridiculous the wage gap still is, and why student loans are a scam. Sander's campaign has delivered a progressive sentiment that this country unequivocally needs. However my fear is Sanders himself is turning into an overly self-righteous candidate, which is taking away from what makes Bernie Bernie.
