This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/02/bernie-sanders-interview-passion-iowa-new-hampshire
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| On the campaign bus with Bernie Sanders: 'I am moved by the passion' | On the campaign bus with Bernie Sanders: 'I am moved by the passion' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Gulfstream jet that whisked Bernie Sanders back from an impromptu audience at the White House late last Wednesday was more than just a quick way for the senator to return to the Democratic race in Iowa. It gave him, for the first time, the look of a serious contender. | The Gulfstream jet that whisked Bernie Sanders back from an impromptu audience at the White House late last Wednesday was more than just a quick way for the senator to return to the Democratic race in Iowa. It gave him, for the first time, the look of a serious contender. |
| Related: Onboard Bernie Sanders' campaign bus in Iowa – in pictures | Related: Onboard Bernie Sanders' campaign bus in Iowa – in pictures |
| This 74-year-old “democratic socialist” has more often than not been held up for ridicule by the party establishment. But after his flight, as he slipped quietly into a deserted rural airport for an evening rally, he strode on to the tarmac with a bounce in his step that – in the dusk light at least – could almost have been that of Barack Obama when he beat Hillary Clinton in Iowa eight years ago. | This 74-year-old “democratic socialist” has more often than not been held up for ridicule by the party establishment. But after his flight, as he slipped quietly into a deserted rural airport for an evening rally, he strode on to the tarmac with a bounce in his step that – in the dusk light at least – could almost have been that of Barack Obama when he beat Hillary Clinton in Iowa eight years ago. |
| For the first and only time in nine months of campaigning, Sanders pulled ahead of Clinton in Iowa in a rolling average of opinion polls. Five days later, a real-life electorate would deliver a nail-bitingly close finish – Clinton won, but the result ensured that the two will duel for the party’s nomination for months to come and that leftwing politics in America may never look the same again. | For the first and only time in nine months of campaigning, Sanders pulled ahead of Clinton in Iowa in a rolling average of opinion polls. Five days later, a real-life electorate would deliver a nail-bitingly close finish – Clinton won, but the result ensured that the two will duel for the party’s nomination for months to come and that leftwing politics in America may never look the same again. |
| Like the dramatic twists and turns of caucus results on Monday night, the story of the senator’s final few days in Iowa is, in the words of his wife Jane, “a rollercoaster”. It begins and ends with private jet rides that may surprise those more used to Sanders’ role as a champion of the working class, but which show just how far he has travelled towards a realistic shot at power. | Like the dramatic twists and turns of caucus results on Monday night, the story of the senator’s final few days in Iowa is, in the words of his wife Jane, “a rollercoaster”. It begins and ends with private jet rides that may surprise those more used to Sanders’ role as a champion of the working class, but which show just how far he has travelled towards a realistic shot at power. |
| As Sanders was returning from meeting Obama at the White House, a frail-looking Bill Clinton was about to speak across town on his wife’s behalf, to an audience a third smaller than that of her once obscure opponent. | As Sanders was returning from meeting Obama at the White House, a frail-looking Bill Clinton was about to speak across town on his wife’s behalf, to an audience a third smaller than that of her once obscure opponent. |
| Hillary Clinton was stuck in Philadelphia, raising money from hedge fund managers. Sanders had made it to the Oval Office and back with a much more valuable commodity: credibility. | Hillary Clinton was stuck in Philadelphia, raising money from hedge fund managers. Sanders had made it to the Oval Office and back with a much more valuable commodity: credibility. |
| An underappreciated side effect of refusing to take money from wealthy donors is that Sanders can skip such time-consuming fundraisers. Soliciting money directly from regular supporters carries a different sort of obligation, especially for a campaign that normally flies coach class. | |
| The record 3.2m donations received by the Sanders campaign since May average out at just $27 each, suggesting several thousand individuals paid to charter the jet which took Sanders and his campaign manager from the midwest to Washington and back. | The record 3.2m donations received by the Sanders campaign since May average out at just $27 each, suggesting several thousand individuals paid to charter the jet which took Sanders and his campaign manager from the midwest to Washington and back. |
| Few will have begrudged the expense. In the time it took Sanders to fly from a 15,000-strong rally in Minneapolis to the meeting in the Oval Office, stop for a crucial photo opportunity outside the West Wing, and head back to Iowa to square off against Bill Clinton in Mason City, the Vermont senator went from looking like a fringe phenomenon to looking like a potential president. | Few will have begrudged the expense. In the time it took Sanders to fly from a 15,000-strong rally in Minneapolis to the meeting in the Oval Office, stop for a crucial photo opportunity outside the West Wing, and head back to Iowa to square off against Bill Clinton in Mason City, the Vermont senator went from looking like a fringe phenomenon to looking like a potential president. |
| I do think it was nice of the president for us to sit down and chat for 45 minutes | I do think it was nice of the president for us to sit down and chat for 45 minutes |
| Obama had been promising face time for months, but it was only after an interview he gave on his legacy was widely interpreted as leaning Clinton’s way that the president felt the need to rebalance his public stance in the crucial few days leading up to the Iowa caucus. | Obama had been promising face time for months, but it was only after an interview he gave on his legacy was widely interpreted as leaning Clinton’s way that the president felt the need to rebalance his public stance in the crucial few days leading up to the Iowa caucus. |
| “I thought the interview that he gave was not a biased interview,” said Sanders in an interview of his own in the back of his campaign bus late last week. “But I think the media picked up on it and the Clinton people spun it.” | “I thought the interview that he gave was not a biased interview,” said Sanders in an interview of his own in the back of his campaign bus late last week. “But I think the media picked up on it and the Clinton people spun it.” |
| Was this Obama’s attempt to level the playing field? | Was this Obama’s attempt to level the playing field? |
| “Yup, perhaps,” Sanders told the Guardian. “I do think it was nice of the president for us to sit down and chat for 45 minutes.” | “Yup, perhaps,” Sanders told the Guardian. “I do think it was nice of the president for us to sit down and chat for 45 minutes.” |
| In the ensuing chase across the prairies by the competing campaign buses, it became clear that the battle for Iowa was to turn into a battle for the right to be considered the true heir to Obama. | In the ensuing chase across the prairies by the competing campaign buses, it became clear that the battle for Iowa was to turn into a battle for the right to be considered the true heir to Obama. |
| For Clinton, many current White House aides and the former Obama staffers who populate her campaign team, there is no doubt. Her more cautious policy platform is a way to ensure that progress achieved in the last eight years is not reversed by Republicans. | For Clinton, many current White House aides and the former Obama staffers who populate her campaign team, there is no doubt. Her more cautious policy platform is a way to ensure that progress achieved in the last eight years is not reversed by Republicans. |
| But for Sanders, Obama’s difficulties with Congress are proof that change cannot come by presidential fiat alone. His call for a “political revolution”, although vague, rests on the notion that the next president needs to bring the wave of support that gets them elected all the way to Washington, and keep it there. | But for Sanders, Obama’s difficulties with Congress are proof that change cannot come by presidential fiat alone. His call for a “political revolution”, although vague, rests on the notion that the next president needs to bring the wave of support that gets them elected all the way to Washington, and keep it there. |
| The central question before voters in Iowa therefore became one of experience over hope: could sceptical midwesterners who were sold once on change be persuaded to buy the extra-strength version, only in less attractive packaging? Or would they opt for cheaper but more reliable promises from Clinton? | The central question before voters in Iowa therefore became one of experience over hope: could sceptical midwesterners who were sold once on change be persuaded to buy the extra-strength version, only in less attractive packaging? Or would they opt for cheaper but more reliable promises from Clinton? |
| The lack of marketing gloss on Sanders is hard to overstate. Though the rumpled look and wild hair may have attracted a cult following among younger voters, this anti-candidate could not break more rules of political television if he tried. | The lack of marketing gloss on Sanders is hard to overstate. Though the rumpled look and wild hair may have attracted a cult following among younger voters, this anti-candidate could not break more rules of political television if he tried. |
| He is constantly hoarse from shouting. His staff and family fight a losing battle to keep dandruff from his baggy suits and a somewhat cantankerous temper from obscuring what can still prove to be an avuncular charm. | He is constantly hoarse from shouting. His staff and family fight a losing battle to keep dandruff from his baggy suits and a somewhat cantankerous temper from obscuring what can still prove to be an avuncular charm. |
| During our interview on his tour bus, it was left to his wife, Jane, to rescue our photographer when Bernie refused to move from his favourite comfy arm chair into a bench seat that had better lighting. | During our interview on his tour bus, it was left to his wife, Jane, to rescue our photographer when Bernie refused to move from his favourite comfy arm chair into a bench seat that had better lighting. |
| “Let him do his job,” she implored, as Sanders looked for a split second more like a grumpy old man interrupted from a recliner during Sunday afternoon football than a polished political operative. | “Let him do his job,” she implored, as Sanders looked for a split second more like a grumpy old man interrupted from a recliner during Sunday afternoon football than a polished political operative. |
| It is not just Sanders who can snap. Backstage at one of several rallies introduced by the passionate black academic Cornell West, the senator’s staff frantically signalled for him to cut short his fiery remarks only to receive a shrug from advisers who suspect there is little anyone can do once this oratory starts. | It is not just Sanders who can snap. Backstage at one of several rallies introduced by the passionate black academic Cornell West, the senator’s staff frantically signalled for him to cut short his fiery remarks only to receive a shrug from advisers who suspect there is little anyone can do once this oratory starts. |
| ‘You’ve seen the passion’ | ‘You’ve seen the passion’ |
| The strain of a life lived constantly on the road is all too apparent. At the beginning of the week in Mason City, the Sanders bus was as sleek as the Gulfstream, all polished wood, spacious seating and immaculate privacy shades. Three days later, when we caught up again in Manchester, Iowa, the bus was strewn with cups of cold coffee, the veneer was covered with dust and the shades were all rucked up. | The strain of a life lived constantly on the road is all too apparent. At the beginning of the week in Mason City, the Sanders bus was as sleek as the Gulfstream, all polished wood, spacious seating and immaculate privacy shades. Three days later, when we caught up again in Manchester, Iowa, the bus was strewn with cups of cold coffee, the veneer was covered with dust and the shades were all rucked up. |
| In the eyes of his supporters, there is a Disney movie quality to the man known increasingly just as Bernie: an old leftie from the 1960s comes back to woo a new generation of young fans with a message of hope that is dismissed as bordering on senile, until suddenly he starts winning votes – bucketloads of them. | In the eyes of his supporters, there is a Disney movie quality to the man known increasingly just as Bernie: an old leftie from the 1960s comes back to woo a new generation of young fans with a message of hope that is dismissed as bordering on senile, until suddenly he starts winning votes – bucketloads of them. |
| But among the small number of reporters on the travelling press bus, there were very few who were “feeling the Bern” in this way. As in much of the mainstream US political media, there was a terror of looking naive, and many of Sanders’ calls for renewing democracy were met with eye-rolling in the media pack. | |
| “It’s the rooms that motivate me, that energise me,” Sanders told the Guardian after particularly savage editorials endorsing Clinton in both the Post and the New York Times. “If I just read the Washington Post I would get very depressed, but that’s not what keeps me going. | “It’s the rooms that motivate me, that energise me,” Sanders told the Guardian after particularly savage editorials endorsing Clinton in both the Post and the New York Times. “If I just read the Washington Post I would get very depressed, but that’s not what keeps me going. |
| “You’ve seen the passion. I think it really contrasts with Secretary Clinton. I am really moved by it.” | “You’ve seen the passion. I think it really contrasts with Secretary Clinton. I am really moved by it.” |
| Being an embedded reporter usually carries the reverse risk, but the chasm between scorn in the media and the enthusiasm of supporters was felt most keenly on Saturday night. A concert in Cedar Rapids marked the highlight of a rapidly snowballing Iowa campaign trip. Despite this, fewer than a dozen journalists showed up for the bus the next day. | Being an embedded reporter usually carries the reverse risk, but the chasm between scorn in the media and the enthusiasm of supporters was felt most keenly on Saturday night. A concert in Cedar Rapids marked the highlight of a rapidly snowballing Iowa campaign trip. Despite this, fewer than a dozen journalists showed up for the bus the next day. |
| If I just read the Washington Post I would get very depressed, but that’s not what keeps me going | If I just read the Washington Post I would get very depressed, but that’s not what keeps me going |
| In his largest rally in the state yet, 5,000 supporters packed a university sports arena to hear a truncated version of the Sanders speech and a concert by the indie band Vampire Weekend. By the time Sanders joined the band on stage for a rousing finale of Woody Guthrie’s 1940 folk classic This Land Is Your Land, it was easy to see why so many supporters believe the corporately owned media to be wilfully ignoring the evidence before their eyes of a powerful political movement. | In his largest rally in the state yet, 5,000 supporters packed a university sports arena to hear a truncated version of the Sanders speech and a concert by the indie band Vampire Weekend. By the time Sanders joined the band on stage for a rousing finale of Woody Guthrie’s 1940 folk classic This Land Is Your Land, it was easy to see why so many supporters believe the corporately owned media to be wilfully ignoring the evidence before their eyes of a powerful political movement. |
| Among Sanders’ combative social media brigades, “the revolution will not be televised” is an increasingly common refrain. | Among Sanders’ combative social media brigades, “the revolution will not be televised” is an increasingly common refrain. |
| A selection of revolutionary anthems, from Tracy Chapman’s Talkin’ Bout a Revolution and John Lennon’s Power to People, act as his regular warm-up soundtrack. “He thinks he’d blow our minds” is the lyric from David Bowie’s Starman that usually accompanies Sanders off stage. | A selection of revolutionary anthems, from Tracy Chapman’s Talkin’ Bout a Revolution and John Lennon’s Power to People, act as his regular warm-up soundtrack. “He thinks he’d blow our minds” is the lyric from David Bowie’s Starman that usually accompanies Sanders off stage. |
| Another omnipresent clue to the media’s blind spot in Iowa was the overflowing of car parks that accompanied everything the senator did. Though Clinton occasionally attracted big crowds, too, she rarely brought towns to a standstill. | Another omnipresent clue to the media’s blind spot in Iowa was the overflowing of car parks that accompanied everything the senator did. Though Clinton occasionally attracted big crowds, too, she rarely brought towns to a standstill. |
| “The revolution will not have parking” seems an apt slogan for anyone who has to follow Sanders around. | “The revolution will not have parking” seems an apt slogan for anyone who has to follow Sanders around. |
| ‘It is not a radical idea. It is as American as apple pie’ | ‘It is not a radical idea. It is as American as apple pie’ |
| Related: Surviving candidates seek to take elusive momentum to New Hampshire | Related: Surviving candidates seek to take elusive momentum to New Hampshire |
| The conspiracy theorists also appear to have point when it comes to suggestions of overt bias against Sanders by the Democratic National Committee and party loyalists. | The conspiracy theorists also appear to have point when it comes to suggestions of overt bias against Sanders by the Democratic National Committee and party loyalists. |
| Such alleged bias was apparent on caucus night in a precinct in suburban Des Moines, where officials initially refused to credit Sanders with an extra delegate after a narrow win. An obviously sympathetic chairman suggested the result be split down the middle – even though the raw vote count showed a clear defeat for Clinton. | Such alleged bias was apparent on caucus night in a precinct in suburban Des Moines, where officials initially refused to credit Sanders with an extra delegate after a narrow win. An obviously sympathetic chairman suggested the result be split down the middle – even though the raw vote count showed a clear defeat for Clinton. |
| Coin tosses decided the fate of at least half a dozen other delegates in close precincts on Monday, a factor that would have left Sanders with the balance of the votes had events played out more fortuitously. | Coin tosses decided the fate of at least half a dozen other delegates in close precincts on Monday, a factor that would have left Sanders with the balance of the votes had events played out more fortuitously. |
| Yet for all the conspiracies and revolutionary fervour of his supporters, Sanders is adamant that his core messages – healthcare for all, free public college tuition, family leave and reducing inequality – are far from radical, certainly by international or historical standards. | Yet for all the conspiracies and revolutionary fervour of his supporters, Sanders is adamant that his core messages – healthcare for all, free public college tuition, family leave and reducing inequality – are far from radical, certainly by international or historical standards. |
| “It is not a radical idea. It is as American as apple pie to say that if someone is working 40 hours a week, they should not be living in poverty,” Sanders told the Cedar Rapids crowd on Saturday. | “It is not a radical idea. It is as American as apple pie to say that if someone is working 40 hours a week, they should not be living in poverty,” Sanders told the Cedar Rapids crowd on Saturday. |
| By the time a press pack several times the normal size crowded on to the senator’s plane to take him to the next race in New Hampshire on Tuesday morning, there was a palpable new mood of respect among some of those charting his chances against Clinton. | By the time a press pack several times the normal size crowded on to the senator’s plane to take him to the next race in New Hampshire on Tuesday morning, there was a palpable new mood of respect among some of those charting his chances against Clinton. |
| Eager young volunteers thronged the jet, trying to beat a snowstorm in Des Moines and carry momentum through to other states. | Eager young volunteers thronged the jet, trying to beat a snowstorm in Des Moines and carry momentum through to other states. |
| “Welcome to the Bernie Express,” quipped a pilot, congratulating the senator even as Clinton aides claimed the narrow victory that would later be confirmed. | “Welcome to the Bernie Express,” quipped a pilot, congratulating the senator even as Clinton aides claimed the narrow victory that would later be confirmed. |
| Sanders is 20 points up against the former secretary of state in this second race of the 2016 primary season, and his strategists hope momentum may let them take Nevada too. | Sanders is 20 points up against the former secretary of state in this second race of the 2016 primary season, and his strategists hope momentum may let them take Nevada too. |
| After that, the odds remain stacked against Sanders in many ways. But never again are the pundits likely to dismiss him as a relic from a bygone era. | After that, the odds remain stacked against Sanders in many ways. But never again are the pundits likely to dismiss him as a relic from a bygone era. |