Even though he’s been surging in the early polls, many “political experts” (if you can really be one of those considering how unpredictable political races are in these early stages) consider Bernie Sanders to still be a long shot to become the Democratic National Candidate, let alone to actually become our next President. But if he’s been surging in the polls, there must be a good reason; mass numbers of people aren’t going to his rallies because they have nothing better to do. They want to hear from Bernie; they believe in Bernie, but why?

It’s because Bernie Sanders feels different than all of the other candidates in contention, as well as those that came before him, because he seems to be an anti-candidate of some sort. He doesn’t play by the same “rules” as the rest of the field, and it’s not that he’s cheating, it’s that he’s doing things that all others would consider to be a disadvantage, except it’s working. For many young voters, he’s the first candidate that’s ever felt like an honest person. A person that doesn’t take money from Super PACs. A person that isn’t afraid of handing over the microphone to give minorities a national voice. A person that finally tells it straight. A person that wants to be a President the American people can be proud of.

Bernie Sanders does what John McCain did for many young voters back in 2000 when McCain pledged to be honest with the people of America above all else. McCain instilled hope in the American people--Democratic, Independent, and Republican--because he wasn’t trying to trick the American people into voting for him. Bernie is doing the same thing now, and he’s doing it by speaking the truth, as McCain did, but his positions on critical issues such as gun laws, immigration, and healthcare (among other issues), differ from McCain’s.

With Bernie, young voters get the sense that America can finally be the so-called “Best Country in the World” that we’ve always been told about, but never actually lived in. Young voters get this sense because of what Bernie stands for. For starters, while Sanders may be running as a Democrat this presidential election due to it’s necessity in the current state of politics, he has declared himself as an Independent since joining Congress in 1990, which blatantly proclaims that he isn’t caught up in the toxic partisan atmosphere that has plagued Washington D.C. for much too long. Furthermore, he’s been fighting for civil rights, women’s rights, better and affordable education, a transformation of our energy system, the VA health care system--simply put, a government that actually makes the lives of everyone better--and he’s been doing this for the majority of his life.

While Bernie certainly isn’t the only candidate fighting for these things, I don’t know any that have been doing it for as long and consistently as him, and the continuity of his principles makes young voters finally trust a candidate. Bernie Sanders is running at a time when many young voters are extremely tired of the chaos and struggle that is Washington D.C., and Bernie provides hope for that. For all the Hilary supporters, I understand that Hilary might make a great President, but the fact that she takes large donations from corporations, has only recently changed her stance on marriage equality, and the fact that she voted for the war in Iraq, while Bernie opposed the war well before many others, gives young voters, and many others, the sense that she may not be exactly what they’re looking for in a President. Young voters want a President that has stood for what’s right all along, and isn’t going to deceive us, even if deception has become the norm. A President that isn’t tainted by Big Money. A President that the American People can look up to, admire, and brag about because they finally do live in a country they can all be extremely proud of.

Bernie Sanders isn’t just a great salesman, like many politicians today and many of the Presidents that have served in the past; he’s a real leader. What I mean by that is best said in the words of David Foster Wallace: “…a real leader is somebody who can help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better, harder things than we can get ourselves to do on our own” (Up Simba, 225). This is exactly what Bernie Sanders can and will do if he is elected President of The United States. He’ll motivate the American People to change things for the better because he’ll inspire us to work as hard as we can to make America great again.