The Sanders Strategy

Bernie Sanders conveys a strong message of good will. During debates and events, Sanders's message is that he is going to make America work for the people. He always talks about how he will work for equality and better opportunities for the people. Truly, his entire platform is built around the idea that he cares about the American people and that all of his policies are for the purpose of making America better for the people.

Sanders's campaign website, like all others, has sections for his issues, events, biography, etc. However, what is unique about Sanders's biography is that it not only has a few paragraphs about his life and experience, but it is separated into decades so that one may follow his entire life by the year. This seems to be an effort to instill a sense of familiarity, and in turn, trust. This is another prevalent aspect of Sanders's campaign- trustworthiness. He already has the fact that he is an older, sort of grandfather figure working for him. He naturally comes across as an honest, well-meaning person; and he plays up that aspect heavily. 

Another thing that one would notice should one spend even a small amount of time on Sanders's website or reading his tweets is that Sanders makes it seem as if he is a super hero sent to right all of America's wrongs. By this I mean that Sanders cites all kinds of problems which face America, and states that it is our responsibility, moral or otherwise, to solve these problems. Then he offers astonishingly simple solutions to said problems, and moves on, leaving one to ponder whether he is delusional or a genius. Also by making these sort of quick, catchy statements, Sanders is able to catch the attention of his followers, as well as voters who may still be undecided. They see that this candidate is identifying problems and offering solutions that are simple enough for the average person to understand.

Sanders’s good will and trustworthiness seem to work well for him. This image is fitting for him, and it seems to be effective. However, the oversimplification of highly complicated policies likely serves to breed skepticism in many constituents, rather than gain support. A certain level of hope and optimism are healthy and necessary in order to take on the task of being president, but addressing every issue with such simple and easy solutions just makes it all sound too good to be true.