No Bernie You are no FDR

Just like the answer to every domestic issue for Sanders is campaign finance reform, on foreign policy the answer to everything is 'Hillary voted for the Iraq War and I didn't so I have judgement.'

He says judgement is as important as experience. But he doesn't do much to give us confidence about his experience or knowledge. 

Then for some reason he evoked FDR. Considering he's not a Democrat and is basically attempting a hostile takeover of our party, I found that almost blasphemous. If FDR could somehow be transplanted to today, he would not be a Bernie Bro. 

He would fail Bernie's litmus test for what makes a True Progressive. He took money from Wall St. And then he did Glass Steagall. 

Interestingly, FDR didn't run on any big promises like Bernie is. He actually ran on cutting spending and balancing the budget-which for me underscores why you can never take campaign rhetoric too seriously. 

Indeed, in 2008, Hillary ran on the mandate, and Obama ran against it. 

Regarding this whole idea of 'Who's the True Progressive?' President Obama took a dim view of this yesterday. 

"President Barack Obama on Wednesday gave a rousing speech on America's political culture, decrying the influence of big money, encouraging compromise and warning people against believing in absolutes from either party."

"Trying to find common ground [with Republicans] doesn't make me less of a Democrat or less of a progressive," Obama told an audience in Springfield, Illinois. "It means I'm trying to get stuff done."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-clinton-speech_us_56bb9af7e4b08ffac123b6bc

There it is: getting stuff done. This is the bumper sticker for Hillary's campaign. Are you the progressive who makes big promises, or gets major things done?

One other point. I hear some argue that Hillary's argument here is a wash as her or Bernie's agenda would be dead on arrival. 

In part this is her whole point.  The Democratic President in 2017 won't get sweeping things done like single payer or free tuition across the board. 

Any change then will at least the first few years necessarily incremental-whether or not anyone wants to say that's not inspiring enough. 

In any case, there are small tweaks here or there than can improve on say the ACA. You don't need a huge legislative majority to get that done. 

Any change will come through two avenues:

1. Coalition building which Bernie is not famous for. Why else does he have no support of those who have worked with him? Why does even Peter Shumlin, the Vermont Governor who wanted single payer prefer Hillary who isn't calling for single payer?

2. Smart use of executive power; something that Hillary is clearly much more conversant with.