海角大神

No. No. A thousand times no. Elizabeth Warren is still not running for president.聽But if not the senator from Massachusetts, then who might don the liberal mantle in 2016? Sen. Bernie Sanders, perhaps?

The independent senator from Vermont has been traveling the country testing the waters.

On Monday, he laid out his agenda at the Brookings Institution think tank. His shock of white hair and often-rumpled appearance contrast sharply with the trim and energetic put-togetherness of Senator Warren 鈥� but they certainly read from the same political page.

鈥淭oday, in my view, the most serious problem we face as a nation is the grotesque and growing level of wealth and income inequality,鈥� he said, railing against 鈥渁 government of the billionaires, by the billionaires, and for the billionaires.鈥�

Sanders swings as hard left as Warren does: Social Security needs to be expanded, not reduced (he would pay for it by raising the payroll tax cap); the big Wall Street financial firms聽are beyond reform and they must be broken up; health care for all is a right, which should be provided by a Medicare-like single-payer plan. A big infrastructure program would create millions of jobs, and free college and graduate education would give the workforce competitive chops.聽

There鈥檚 only one problem with this ersatz Warren theory. Nobody can replace her, because, as Amy Walter of the independent Cook Political report puts it: 鈥淓lizabeth Warren is the only Elizabeth Warren of the race鈥� (even though she鈥檚 not in it).

Warren鈥檚 appeal is not that she鈥檚 the anti-Hillary, or that the Democratic base is yearning for a more liberal voice, says Ms. Walter. It鈥檚 her sparkliness.

鈥淪he鈥檚 shiny and she鈥檚 new and she鈥檚 fresh and she鈥檚 engaging and she鈥檚 motivating. So I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 a slot that you can just sort of interchange with any other Democrat.鈥澛�

Sanders seems to recognize this.

鈥淚 knew Elizabeth Warren before she was Elizabeth Warren鈥� 鈥� back when she was merely a 鈥渂rilliant鈥� Harvard law professor with an ability to explain complicated issues in an understandable way, he said on Monday. 鈥淪he blew me away.鈥澛�

And Hillary Rodham Clinton blows everyone else away, whether it鈥檚 Warren or Sanders.

In the February poll by Bloomberg Politics-St. Anselm College, Mrs. Clinton buries these two like a blizzard 鈥� and right in their own backyard. The former secretary of state, senator, and first lady is the top choice of 56 percent of likely voters in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, according to the poll. Warren comes in a distant second at 15 percent; Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden tie for third at 8 percent each.

Clinton鈥檚 name recognition is 鈥渁bout 10 times greater than mine,鈥� admitted Sanders, but then again, he鈥檚 faced such odds before. In the 1970s, he ran twice for governor of Vermont and twice for the US Senate 鈥� once setting a personal best of 6 percent of the vote. In 1981, the socialist finally emerged victorious as an independent running for mayor of Burlington, Vermont鈥檚 largest city, challenging a five-term Democrat.

聽鈥淣obody, but nobody thought that we had a chance to win,鈥� Sanders said at the start of his talk.

He crossed the finish line 鈥� after a recount 鈥� by a mere 10 votes.

Of course, the national stage is hardly the shores of Lake Champlain or the dairy farms that produce the state鈥檚 famed cheddar cheese. In underdog cases like this, sometimes candidates run to influence the primary debate. Others run as third-party or independent candidates and then become 鈥渟poilers鈥� in the general election 鈥� think Ross Perot or Ralph Nader.

Sanders says he鈥檚 still sorting out whether to run, and if so, whether to run as an independent or a Democrat. Voters sick of both parties value the independent label, but it takes gobs of money and organizational prowess to get on all the state ballots.

Sanders made clear, however, that he has no desire to be a son-of-Nader.

鈥淚 will not be a spoiler,鈥� he stated emphatically.

If he wanted to debate Clinton in the primaries, he would have to register as a Democrat. To be sure, he offers a more left-leaning message, but not one that would make much of a difference, according to political observers.

Says Democratic pollster Celinda Lake: 鈥淲hat he speaks to is an agenda. And he brings forth those ideas. But much of that agenda Hillary Clinton supports, too.鈥�