... in the way he did. He was covering for not knowing what to say. A candidate who's actually ready to be president could have given a response, and then pivoted back to the topic du jour.

A prepared candidate wouldn't have needed to put out instructions that ISIS questions were not allowed (thus signaling to the press what his weakness is, and daring them to ask.)

A qualified candidate can think on his or her feet and speak extemporaneously, and is comfortable in speaking on all topics beyond that for which he or she has prepared comments.

A skilled candidate doesn't shy away from left-field questions and knows how to redirect and guide the "conversation" without appearing to be abrupt, gruff, testy, peeved, or annoyed.

He demonstrated that he can't easily handle the unexpected, or things outside his comfort zone ... and that will come back to haunt him.

LOL

THIS is exactly the difference between Sanders and everybody else. And YOU think it is a weakness.

I realize that meaningless soundbytes are the fodder for campaigns. Of course he could give the pat answer "Isisd is a grave threat and need a combination of intelligence and credible force to defeat these horrible people....blah,blah,blah."

But Sanders is actually attempting to proactively raise issues and a larger context that the MSM and Conventional Wisdom politicians consistently ignore. he is trying to move beyind the Kabuki Dances that keep our politics and policies frozen in place.

he is perfectly capable of handling things outside his comfort zone. But he also doesn't intend to put up with the bullshit that keeps politics so shallow and reactive on a status quo basis.

The media has been on a fever pitch since it broke into their apartment and is still frothing at the mouth.


Did people get this scared after the Aurora shootings? NO.

We are being led down a path to a frenzy.

Maybe someone who had effing relatives who lived through such a history may not want to participate in creating a new one for another targeted group.

But go ahead and fear ISIS and get laughing at the idea of a old Jew hosting easter egg hunts.

This has been another event that has shown the march into the abyss by far too many citizens of the nation.

... and inability to skillfully redirect the topic. It could have been anything that ruffled his feathers, but as it turns out, the topic was ISIS.

Actually, it has nothing to do with what I personally worry about, or what's at the top of my "worry-list". This is about an unprepared candidate who responded poorly when things didn't go as he wanted them to.

From the looks of things, since he was basically daring reporters to ask about ISIS, he apparently knew what was coming. He'd hoped to avoid it, but common sense should have told him that it was unavoidable. Instead, he could have (should have) been able to respond, pivot, and return to the day's topic without coming across in the manner that he did.

He's basically reinforcing all the negative impressions that many people already have of him. A prepared candidate would know better.

I assume this was meant for someone else. I've made no such comment.


Did the Aurora shooting take place in the middle of a presidential primary? Was the Aurora shooting tied to ISIS?

I can totally see that Jackie. I can totally see your posts.


Keep banging that drum.

Unprepared? No, he was focusing on something that actually impacts Americans far more than ISIS. But the media is unprepared to really talk or focus on it. Must be fun to be a cog in their machine.

... then how will he be able to effectively handle the other challenges of the presidency.

Totally.

You should see how the movie ends. It will be a tear herder for h fans.

"Are you ready, Boots? Start walking!"

OH?

I don't know. I don't get it.

Maybe I need a mint julep to understand what you are getting at.

(And kick!)

The only people that care are those that have already picked their candidate. This "issue" means nothing and it won't change anyone's mind.

Like I said in my OP, it's only going to get harder for him now.

He will do better because of this.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251885181

Rather than the Kabukli Dances that keep real issues under the rug, he is insisting that the real structural and systemic problems we are facing actuality get mentioned and addressed.

Not putting up with shallow bullshit is a strength, not a weakness or "underbelly." Just the opposite.

Did you see the members of the AAS comunity while he was delivering his "tirade" against the media? They were clapping and niodding in agreement.

that he could never raise a large crowds, or that he is too old and no young people would support him or that he was a racist or that no women supported him or no People of Color supported him, or that he was out of touch with Black Lives Matter, or that he is always yelling, or that now he is soft on Daesh.

... his display reaches beyond the safe and semi-isolated confines of the DU fortress. As with the last debates, his performance and his inability to gracefully and effectively handle the unexpected (or unwanted) reveal to many what his weakness is. His "grumpy" and abrupt deflection suggests that he wasn't prepared to give an answer, or that he lacks the ability to guide the discussion back to the topic of the day.

He knows how to use his "angry" and "huffy" demeanor to connect with the people who already support him ... they eat it up! But it appears that such things don't connect very well with everyone else.

In my mind, this helps to explain why he's having such a difficult time in getting his national poll numbers any higher than the 30-or-so percent that he currently has. It also explains to me why his endorsements are so dreadfully sparse.

I like a guy who can stfu when he has nothing new to say on a topic.

His reaction was a large part of the problem.

He had the opportunity to leave the podium and ignore the questions. Instead, he chose to return and chastise the press.

The OP nailed it.

Most Democrats (other than diehard Hillary supporters) agree with him.

You completely ignore the fact that he is making a valid point in his criticisms of the press. I suspect if he weren;t running against Clinton, many here who are castigating him would be agreeing with him and praising him for standing up to the mainstream media.

The wisdom of our system is that the people get to reject or embrace his approach.

The only people posting anything negative about it, over and over and over, are people who had their minds made up long ago.

I have seen nothing outside the confines of DU that would indicate any negative effect towards his campaign.

I believe it is a non-issue.

I have no expectations of anyone. I state my opinions as honestly as possible. I have no idea what happens next.

How you process my comment is up to you.

Voted for the Iraq war. There's plenty of time to talk about ISIS thanks to Hillary's vote. Hillary is partly to blame for ISIS. Why isn't that being said. Her vote enabled the mess we're in. But Bernie won't talk about ISIS. Booo! Hooo! You're lucky Bernie doesn't talk about ISIS.

You just don't get it. If he has something to say, he should say it. "I could say something but I won't" ain't cutting it.

It's the 22 percent he needs to convince if he wants to win the general.

My take is that he needs to understand that the press is not his friend and will attempt to embarrass him whenever possible, and he he needs to deal with it much better.

Even if Bernie wins the nomination, he will lose on some primary night, and the press will immediately ask him if he's toast, and they won't be kind. Sanders needs to tuck away that fiery temper when dealing with the press.

when it comes to handling the press.

She's had decades to hone her skills dealing with the jackals and the rightwing bullies.

Senator Sanders is being true to himself and the wisdom of our system will allow the voters to decide if they like or don't like him.

I believe they get it right more often than not and as a small (d) democrat I have to live with the results regardless.

I do not believe his approach is an efficacious one and I suspect the voters will take note of it, regardless of how his stalwart supporters feel.

Whether or not we like it national security is going to be at the forefront of issues in the upcoming election.

It's actually good for us.

when that should be up to the candidates to choose their issues and the people to accept or reject a platform

Politicians have fallen into the habit of catering to sensation seeking "journalists" by being forever diverted by questions designed to sell advertising space instead of correct the problems of society.
This, however common, is not a rule. If anything, it shows a candidate's inability to take command of a moment.

Having the 48th opinion expressed in opposition to Daish that day was of lesser importance than highlighting the appalling conditions in some select parts of the US city of Baltimore.

I avoid reaching through a stranger's car window to pet the dog inside -- not out of habit but out of seeing people getting shredded by doing such a thing.

Bernie's on the learning curve.

And it might be a good time for the press to join us in learning a new path; the old ones failing the vast majority so badly, for so long.

That's a plus.

Every time they screw up, they say "I meant to do that."

Since you want to make comparisons

Clearly the Hillarian attack theme of the day.

my ignore list longer...

And neither is his campaign. If a miracle occurred and he won the nomination that clip with him being dismissive regarding ISIS would be featured in attack ads 24/7.

Not good.

... that we heard from McCain in 2008 directed towards Barack Obama.

And the Hillarians wonder why they get accused of being Repuglican-lite.

Not good.

with this.

I can't believe his people were so stupid as to tell the press not to ask him about isis.

Duh......

then you have your heads in the sand.

This inside baseball obsessiveness about a "bad move" that wasn't a bad move is beyond silly.

Who has claimed this is their "biggest issue?"

If I show you a Sanders supporter op that is about a non-issue will you make the same comment there? Didn't think so considering you had to put words in peoples mouths just to make the post you are here.

If people think it merits an opinion they can certainly post on one of the many threads that have already been posted about it. Constantly posting OPs that repeat the same crap does make it look like it is a huuiuuuge issue.

Newflash -- The media outlets have been obsessed with Trump's latest outrage. This little episode has not even been a blip on the radar.

Any port.

A very tiny matter of campaign management is the subject of thread after thread.

And BTW the "concern" overlooks what REALLY happened -- and the fact that the community of AA's from that poor neighborhood were nodding and expressing agreement with Sanders statements.

That's certainly convenient. Bury the real message with prissy little knit picking.

It does show a lack of control and inability to speak to multiple issues. BLM changed his campaign completely. Now this. Seems out of control.

prefabricated, fast-food, carefully stage managed corporate-model of meaningless Kabiki dances in which every statement is careful poll tested before a candidate is allowed to utter a word.

Are you saying Sanders needs to do more polling on ISIS before being asked any more questions about it? Is that why you think he did this? Interesting angle.

seem to believe that candidates have to be predictable and play the silly games of the press, and not step outside of any boxes.

Politics is supposed to be follow a predictable Wal Mart marketing format, in which nothing is spontaneous or real or human. Predictable and shallow. No humanity or authentic interactions allowed to enter a campaign.

She talks about a wide variety of issues every single day. She isn't boxed in. Not sure why you think Sanders is.

A glib answer to any question. Not usually much substance (except in her Major Policy Speeches) but filled with empty pre-tested soundbites.

I would much prefer to see her calling reporters out on bullshit more often, and break out of that familiar format to raise important issues too.

Y'all keep overlooking a basic fact of that event.

When Sanders was making those statements, the members of the AA community on stage were nodding and expressing agreement with him.

How conveeeenient to overlook that little fact.

I understand completely the point he was making in that context.

...were clapping when he made his response.

I'm much more interested in their perception of the exchange than what the mainstream media would have us think about it.

Go get 'em, Bernie!!

don't ask me how fast I was driving. Ask me how my day went instead.

Do you?

to these same bullshit commentaries from Clinton supporters.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026775414

Seems Clinton supporters didn't have a problem with Hillary controlling the press and limiting it to NO questions whatsoever. Obviously she doesn't always answer questions no matter what.

But you see, that is shrewdness, that is presidential behavior, that is....oh fuck, it is just a double standard from the usual folks who love to find anything they can to yammer on about with Sanders and his campaign.

First it is not good enough Sanders with PoC and now when he says, let's focus on PoC in this country for a moment instead of ISIL yet again today, its is not good enough Sanders.

If it wasn't so fucking ridiculous, it would be quite funny!

It allowed Bernie to drive home the point that the state of things here at home is hurting Americans more than ISIS.

That's why I love this place. A different website each and every day!

Last edited Wed Dec 9, 2015, 04:41 PM - Edit history (1)

I think it is wonderful that we have a Democratic candidate who is pushing socialism and raising people's awareness that the country has moved much too far to the right. I hope that we have more and more candidates who push back on the right-wing idiocy that has overtaken the country. One of them - I hope - will eventually win the White House and I hope to see a realignment similar to that of FDR.

Bernie is not that candidate. He will be remembered in a history as an early step in the right direction. His candidacy is not well-rounded and there is no effort to make it so. His candidacy is focused on one topic that is a very important topic, but right now a candidate can't win the White House without dancing with all the devils.

A Freudian slip there?

The Republicans and the neo-liberals, read 3rd Way, have gone too far to the Right. The people have been given only the choice of a Republican or a neo-liberal for far to long. Bernie is the first candidate in a long time that has the people and their problems in mind. And the track record to back it up. That is why he is running. Not because he is due, or because it is his born destiny, but to slow or stop the Rightward shifting of this country, by putting the people first again. Get used to hearing the term "President Sanders".
I am seeing Bernie for President bumper stickers. Hillary stickers, not so much. And I live in Missouri!

not all of us are crazy here In Missouri.

Bernie's strength is he is honest and is consent.

Expect to hear next year the term Sanders Republicans too.

Something like here on DU.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/09/3729452/bernie-baltimore/

POLITICS
Bernie Sanders Visits Site Of Freddie Gray’s Murder While Officer Stands Trial
BY ALICE OLLSTEIN DEC 9, 2015 8:00 AM

CREDIT: AP PHOTO/PATRICK SEMANSKY

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND — Until Tuesday, 49-year-old Mike Williams had never seen a presidential candidate visit Sandtown-Winchester — the impoverished Baltimore neighborhood where police killed 25-year-old Freddie Gray this past April. As Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders passed by, surrounded by local African American pastors and tailed by dozens of reporters, Williams told ThinkProgress he was impressed.

“I have never, ever seen a person running for president come through here. Not one time,” he said. “At first, I wondered if he is just trying to get the black voter. But I did some research and found out he fought a lot for civil rights, and even marched at one time with Martin Luther King. I never knew that. And in his speeches, he says, ‘Yes, black lives do matter.'”
Williams, a neighbor and friend of Freddie Gray, said he wanted Sanders to see the exact spot where the young man suffered a fatal spine injury in police custody. “That was some foul stuff they did to my man,” he said. “But I was always taught that everything happens for a reason. So it’s sad he had such a short life but the good side is that he made a big impact, not only in Baltimore but all over the country.”

Protests over the police killings of Gray and others across the country have also left its mark on the presidential race, including Sanders’ campaign. After having his speeches interrupted by Black Lives Matter demonstrators in multiple states, Sanders released a comprehensive racial justice platform covering everything from police brutality to voter suppression. He also met with the mother of Sandra Bland — who died in a jail cell in Texas — and since then has repeatedly invoked her memory in calling for police reform. Yet the senator from the overwhelmingly white state of Vermont has struggled to connect with voters of colors, and trails rival Hillary Clinton in polls of African Americans.

On a cold Tuesday morning, Sanders followed some of Baltimore’s most influential black clergy to the corner where Freddie Gray was loaded into a police van, marked by a pile of sagging balloons, weathered teddy bears, and written messages for Gray. He saw the Gilmore public housing complex, where residents say they were forced to trade sexual favors for basic maintenance. He saw the surrounding streets, where nearly every other house and storefront was boarded up. He saw a mural the community had made with a larger-than-life depiction of Gray’s face and Baltimore residents marching in the streets for justice.

Pausing before the mural, Sanders said he found the depth of poverty he witnessed “stunning.”
“We are less than an hour away from the White House and the United States Congress,” he said. “It is stunning to understand that we are the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and every year we are seeing more and more millionaires and billionaires, but in communities like this, we are seeing kids dropping out of school, living in dilapidated housing. It is time to transform our national priorities.”

Like Williams, other local residents recognized the man challenging Hillary Clinton for the 2016 nomination.
“Hey, that’s Bernie Sanders, he doesn’t have a Super PAC,” called out one man standing in front of the burned, hollowed-out shell where a CVS once stood.

Some residents urged Sanders to “beat Donald Trump,” while others used the rare visit from a presidential candidate to bring attention to the ongoing trial of the police officers who killed Gray. “All night, all day, we’re gonna fight for Freddie Gray,” they chanted as Sanders passed by a block where the majority of homes were boarded up. “We want jobs. Where are the jobs?”
One young woman shouted at Sanders as he passed: “Even when you’re gone we’re still going to be fighting. What are you going to do to end police brutality? We want action.”

Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant, who led the tour, told ThinkProgress it was important for Sanders to hear directly from these residents and see the conditions they live in firsthand. “These are intelligent voters. Just because they’re poor doesn’t mean they’re uninformed. It did my heart good to see these are not people giving up on life. They’re hungry for an opportunity.”
Bryant, the reverend at Baltimore’s Empowerment Temple AME Church said he felt the roughly half-hour tour was a crucial experience for the famously wonky lawmaker. “I know the senator knows numbers and statistics, but I wanted him to see this poverty firsthand. And he was blown away by it.”

After the walking tour, at a nearby community center, Sanders reflected on the difference between Gray’s neighborhood and his own back in Burlington, Vermont.

“A few blocks from where Jane and I live, there’s a very nice grocery store. We buy good quality food at a reasonable price. You don’t have that here. The prices people in this community are paying are substantially higher. And I can put my money in a bank, where I earn interest. I can cash a check without paying 15, 20 or 50 percent. There aren’t any banks in this community. So it seems like it’s very expensive to be poor.”

The data back up Sanders’ observation. A report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that stores in lower-income neighborhoods charge higher prices for food, driving families to purchase lower quality items. Food purchased at convenience and corner stores — which are more common in poor neighborhoods — can be 20 percent more expensive than the same item in a grocery store.

As for access to a savings or checking account, the World Bank notes the scarcity of banks in neighborhoods like Sandtown is a major factor that exacerbates poverty. Without a secure bank account, the poor are less able to “manage risk and absorb financial shocks.”

Baltimore Reverend Jamal Bryant organized a tour of Freddie Gray's neighborhood for Sen. Bernie Sanders.Baltimore Reverend Jamal Bryant organized a tour of Freddie Gray’s neighborhood for Sen. Bernie Sanders. CREDIT: ALICE OLLSTEIN
Despite expressing admiration for his economic and criminal justice reform proposals, the 15 African American pastors who met with Sanders did not endorse him. They told reporters the meeting was just the beginning of a relationship and talks with other presidential candidates — beginning with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) — are scheduled in the coming weeks.
Rev. Donte Hickman, who leads the Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore, told ThinkProgress following the meeting that he found Sanders “empathetic” and “very impressive.”

“I got the sense that he feels for the disfranchised and disadvantaged and is working to address our issues,” he said. “We’ve got blocks and blocks of blight. We have food deserts. We have liquor stores on every corner. We have blue collar jobs leaving town.”
Hickman, who grew up in poverty in Baltimore and overcame a drug addiction before joining the ministry, says he and the other pastors “grilled” Sanders on how he would address police militarization, create economic opportunities in poor neighborhoods, and tackle the problem of mass incarceration. “It wasn’t volatile, but we weren’t being pansies either,” he told ThinkProgress. “I’m not sure the senator knew what he was getting into.”

Very good article.

for President can't handle a simple press question. Red flags everywhere about that. He just signaled his weakness, although he did that at the debate, too, by ignoring the question about the Paris attack to talk about billionaires. He is very limited and it is a huge weakness.

you guys are really getting silly

Hillary avoids the black and brown forum in Iowa.

avoids the BET presidential forum

tells BLM activists she'll "only talk to white people about the very real problems "

but Hillary's got the AA vote locked up so it's cool right?

smh

was there an evolution?

Or, as it used to be known, "selling out" or "buying in"?