I am not a Bernie supporter, but there is no reason he can not come back if given the nod by his cardiologist, follows their recovery plans and he WANTS to.

To be clear, I am undecided in the Democratic primaries but I guarantee I will vote a straight Democratic ticket next November.

Two things strike me about Senator Sanders' circumstances this week.

First, his health has come under the spotlight because a man of his age with heart trouble is not what I would call a strong candidate for the General Election. Remember that Thomas Eagleton had to withdraw as the VP nominee because he had had electro-shock therapy. A 78-year old man who has had a heart attack will be an easy target for Republicans and there is no strong defense against those attacks.

Second and more disconcerting is that his team put out misleading information about his health. Where's the transparency? Sanders has put himself in a position where he looks like he's hiding things. That won't work well for him.

If he stays in the race, Sanders will be answering questions about his health until next November. Is that the focus we want in this campaign?

If this had happened to Elizabeth Warren or another female candidate of that age group, there would be broad consensus that she should drop out. Look at all the attacks on Hillary every time she sneezed if you need proof of that.

Republicans rally around their own, they don't eat them, like some on this board are doing.

as the Democratic nominee after she got sick following an event on 9/11.

This is the candidate who we keep hearing the Democratic establishment was determined to make the nominee and was rigging the process for.

The misogynists and 25 years of Clinton bashing from Limbaugh, Hannity and the rest of them, set upon Hillary's on every turn and invented her "health" as an issue. Hope she out lives them all.

to the mix and makes it better. I suspect a lot of Sanders supporters will move on to other candidates with time.

Hope he is able to stay the duration. Would not want to lose him.

Bernie will be in great form on the 15th.

is 3.1 years.

After Biden's surgery, at his much younger age, the prognosis was much better.

https://www.cardiovascularbusiness.com/topics/acute-coronary-syndrome/study-65-older-mi-patients-die-within-8-years

“From a healthcare perspective, these statistics are sobering,” lead author Ajar Kochar, MD, with Duke Clinical Research Institute, and colleagues wrote in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “These findings should lead to reflections on appropriate utilization and optimal dosing of secondary prevention therapies, along with revascularization when indicated for older patients with MI. Novel medication approaches to secondary prevention may be of particular interest to older patients with MI.”

The analysis contained almost 23,000 patients from the CRUSADE registry who were treated at 344 U.S. hospitals from 2004 to 2006. Patients were a median of 77 years old at baseline, 52.5 percent were male and 13.3 percent were nonwhite.

In the overall cohort, the median survival was 4.8 years, including 8.2 years for those aged 65 to 74 and 3.1 years for people over 75. Eight-year mortality rates were 65 percent overall, 49 percent for those undergoing PCI and 46 percent for CABG patients.

One of my priorities in choosing a candidate is to make sure that he (or she) is someone who can fulfill EIGHT YEARS (two terms) in office. There's so much to do... I just can's see how I could (in good conscience) vote for anyone who -- statistically speaking -- isn't likely to even finish the first four years.

All I'm trying to say is, we need a strong and HEALTHY president who will be able to "hit the ground running" and who will be able to CONTINUE to sprint the entire marathon distance. That is the candidate who will get my vote.

Bernie is currently 78.

If Biden had the aneurysm today and survived it, I'm pretty sure that would be the end of his career without question.

brain aneurysms surgically repaired during the course of the show (Emilia Clarke aka Mother of Dragons, Daenerys):

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/emilia-clarke-a-battle-for-my-life-brain-aneurysm-surgery-game-of-thrones
I had just finished filming Season 1 of “Game of Thrones.” Then I was struck with the first of two aneurysms.


Heart attacks vary widely in terms of initial severity and long term damage. Those who use it sans any other information to rule out any candidate are not interested in the facts. I say this as no supporter of Bernie (currently) but just want health issues AND age to be judged fairly.

But he’s got a massive war chest, he’s not going anywhere.

I get it.

A stent is not a death sentence. There is no reason that Senator Sanders will not be fine. I am not convinced that a stressful job, even the Presidency, increases the risk of future heart issues.

However, the issue is not whether Senator Sanders is physically up to the job. The question is whether those few swing voters in the very few counties that might again decide the election will worry that Senator Sanders is not up to the job.

Nothing is more important than winning the 2020 election. If concerns over Senator Sanders' health endangers a Democratic victory in 2020, then he cannot be our candidate. It isn't fair but that's the way it is.

endangering a democratic victory, and if by chance he would win, well I guess people aren't that worried.

Primary voters are partisans. General elections are won by the combination of turning out our partisans and persuading the very few people who are persuadable.

The last election was lost by a few hundred votes each in a handful of counties. That can't happen again. The 2020 election is too important. We can't run any unnecessary risks.

Again, it isn't fair but we just cannot run the risk.

South Carolina and Super Tuesday will not be kind to him, as was the case in 2016. The 2016 race effectively ended on Super Tuesday. This time around, Sanders will reach that point more quickly, as he's not likely to perform as well in the contests leading up to South Carolina.

He knows best how he feels. It’s not up to anyone else to urge that.

It is his decision, but it is possible that this event has effectively eliminated him from contention.

Bernie was already fighting against his age....but that was something he could overcome.

However, no he has the old tag and there are legitimate questions on his health. People can fairly question if that's the choice they want to make.

Period.

If he is the Bernie of old , he could be credited with conducting a gallant comeback ..If he looks and sounds bad , people will think he should drop out of the race - and vote accordingly ...It could pan out one way or the other … We'll find out soon enough

Might play up the sympathy vote, 'look at me, better than ever', maybe less finger wagging and more reflective, and unless Jane and the doctors tell him different he will continue on.

Ayep

There is no way a 78 year old who just had a heart attack wins the presidency. 0 zero Nada chance.

Hope he feels better and has a speedy recovery. But he's done with this campaign.

I wouldn't feel comfortable weighing in one way or another.

Whatever Bernie decides is the decision I support.

and use it to beat the crap out of Senators like Joni Ernst with selected ad buys. He has a high level cabinet position waiting for him if a Democrat wins the election.

Of course it is his decision, but we need both the Senate and the Presidency.

be loyal to the Democratic nominee? Will he attack Joe Biden from the sidelines (via Twitter and interviews)? That would be something Trump would love. Only asking.

...more harshly than Bernie has.

Elizabeth Warren to a reporter: “Joe Biden was on the side of the credit card companies.”

Kamala Harris to Biden in a debate: “It was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States Senators who built their reputations and career on segregation of race in this country. And it was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose bussing. And you know, there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bussed to school every day and that little girl was me.“

Julián Castro to Biden in a debate: “Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago? Are you forgetting already what you said just two minutes ago? I can't believe that you said two minutes ago that they had to buy in and now you're saying they don't have to buy in. You're forgetting that.”

...before endorsing Hillary Clinton.

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/04/700121429/bernie-sanders-files-to-run-as-a-democrat-and-an-independent


I do not see him dropping out at all unless he has another myocardial infarction or worse. Our Party is just a tool to be used for him, he has almost zero loyalty.

Many of his non-DU supporters will absolutely snipe at Biden AND/OR Warren (the true Bernie Or Busters hate them both, hell they hate ALL the other Democratic candidates, even Gabbard now that she backed off full MFA and adopted a semi Pete/Biden style Medicare Choice plan.)

I expect at least a third to possibly even a half of his present, 2020 supporters (they are far less Democratic-voting, far more radical than in 2016, when he had a haemorrhage rate of around 23% or so amongst his primary voters) to either not vote for POTUS, vote Green/some ultra-minor party, write Bernie in, or go full spite-bonkers and vote Rump. I wish I were joking, but alas, I am not. The only good thing is we are talking millions less BoBers this time around.

It's a 2 person race. Warren and Biden. Warren will get Bernie's support when he drops out if he does. (The sooner the better for his issues) And Biden will get the moderate voter's vote as they drop out. They will drop out, but will Bernie? The longer he stays in the worse it will be for the "Progressives" since their votes will be split meanwhile the moderates votes will funnel to Biden. You can see the writing on the wall. It's a 2 person race.

Regardless, it's all good for Dems. We have an awesome slate of candidates. It's really a win/win with either candidate.

Sorry that I didn’t respond. My iPad battery is draining at an alarming rate.

I voted for Bernie in 2016, but not this time. He'll be 79 on January 20. 2021. Too old. I'm 84, which means I'm not ageist but experienced.

Better safe than sorry. Being a senator is enough. Running for president is too much, don't know how anybody does it.

The candidate I support should be able to serve EIGHT YEARS with vigor and vitality. That's the one who'll get my vote.

A big $25 million one, and points it towards the beltway and all the establishment who tried to silence voices of dissent as they handed the $1.9 TRILLION keys to Iraq to George W. Bush.

Even though NPR skewed the story that Warren raised so much money, she was actually behind Sanders.

He probably feels better now that he has the stents. It's disingenuous to use this as a reason he should drop out.

I think he should drop out because Warren is a much better candidate - and younger - and can deliver similar policies. His departure would boost her numbers (I assume).

there is no reason for him to drop out.

Symptoms like shortness-of-breath, very easy to spot. I'm pretty sure he's smart enough to monitor his own health. Just saying.

be the nominee over this. Sanders doesn't have to do anything right now. If his polling drops, it will be because of his heart attack and people's concern about it.

Personally, I think he was dropping in the polls anyhow and this won't help. But, he doesn't have to do anything.

This country is not going to elect an almost 80 year old man who just had a heart attack as our president. That is the harsh reality of the situation.

I expect him to be in as much denial about it this time as he was last time. First time I’ve ever actually had any sympathy for the guy.