September 14, 2015
Bernie Sanders has messy hair.
If you look him up on Google, almost all of the images show him with his disheveled white hair, pointing at someone, looking like he’s about to say something important.
It’s part of his identity, the first thing that people notice when they look at him.
And it’s no coincidence that since Sanders announced his presidential bid, his hair has become significantly less mad-scientisty.
If you don’t know who Bernie Sanders is, here are a few things to get you started:
(You can click here to learn more about him.)
In terms of policy, Sanders is an advocate for workers’ rights, women’s rights, income equality, environmental protection, and government spending.
Basically, he’s every liberal’s dream candidate. Unless that dream is to have a Democrat in the Oval Office.
The thing about Sanders is that he is essentially unelectable.
And it’s because of his hair.
Or rather, what his hair represents.
Usually, when Sanders speaks, the average American doesn’t hear his ideas about higher taxes for the wealthy and think they’re reasonable.
No, the average American sees Sanders’ fluffy white hair and can’t take a word he says seriously. They dismiss him as a joke or as an extremist.
So why is he up in the polls?
Well, if you haven’t noticed, America is kind of into the whole “unconventional” thing right now. Just take a look at the other side of the aisle, where another crazy-haired candidate is inexplicably in the lead.
Now, I’m not by any means equating Bernie Sanders to Donald Trump. One of them is a respectable, experienced politician, and the other is a glorified bully.
But the similarity in their unexpected rise in the polls is pretty evident.
People who want Bernie Sanders to be the next president want drastic change. They want someone who is not a typical politician. Someone who will speak the truth. Someone who will hold the cheaters of the world accountable and stand up for the little guy. Someone who doesn’t really care what his hair looks like.
For that reason, the enthusiasm behind Sanders is swelling on the left, especially among young people.
But it is exactly what makes Sanders so promising to this small group of voters that makes him unelectable to the rest of the country.
We are a nation of moderates. We always have been. And a man who calls his policies socialist cannot be the leader of such a nation.
Even if he buys a comb (which it appears that he has), come next November, Sanders’ name will likely not be on the ballot.
I, personally, am disappointed by this. Sanders has great ideas that I think could move this country forward.
But because of public perception, the driver of elections, Sanders won’t be creating change from the White House any time soon.
America isn’t ready for Bernie Sanders. Just like it wasn’t ready for his hair.
Sources:
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