海角大神

How Bernie Sanders is making the Democrats play nice

As Bernie Sanders explained during his interview with Ellen DeGeneres on Wednesday, he has avoided negative ads and comments thus far in the presidential race 鈥� and he plans on keeping it that way. 

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has promised his supporters that he will focus on the real issues during his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. And so far, he has followed through on this promise.

Like his competitors, Mr. Sanders has appeared on a variety of comedic talk shows, such as "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," "Late Night with Seth Meyers," and most recently, "Ellen," hosted by actor/comedian Ellen DeGeneres.

Senator Sanders鈥檚 appearance on Ms. DeGeneres鈥檚 show highlights the his ability to simultaneously talk the issues and show a lighter side of his personality 鈥� all while avoiding negative comments on his competition.

To begin their conversation, DeGeneres replayed a clip for Mr. Sanders from the presidential debate Tuesday, when he let former US secretary of State Hillary Clinton off easy on her 鈥渄amn email鈥� issue.听

DeGeneres asked Sanders why he didn鈥檛 take advantage of Mrs. Clinton鈥檚 most .听

鈥淚鈥檓 very proud to say, I鈥檝e never run a negative political ad in my entire life, and I鈥檝e been attacked a whole lot,鈥� Sanders responded.听

DeGeneres鈥檚 question highlights what some believe is a major weakness 鈥� or strength 鈥� of Sanders鈥檚 campaign. He has pointedly avoided all of the dramatized aspects of politics in order to focus on what he considers to be the real issues.

鈥淚f I were standing here tonight and making some vicious attack against Hillary Clinton or anybody else, it鈥檇 be a front-page story,鈥� Sanders said Wednesday after his taping with DeGeneres at a in California. 鈥淏ut if we talk about why the middle class is disappearing and almost all the income and wealth is going to the top 1 percent 鈥� not a big story.鈥�

Sanders鈥檚 policy-first approach is clearly not a recipe for attracting media coverage. Although the Democratic candidate has witnessed serious success in the polls, he has often been the victim of a media blackout. Earlier this month, 海角大神 reported that Sanders had only been given a total of eight minutes on network news (about 1.5 percent of the minutes devoted thus far to the presidential race).听

But Sanders has not swerved from his determination to keep the issues he cares about front and center. 鈥淲hat the political revolution is, is forcing a debate,鈥� Sanders said in Beverly Hills Wednesday. 鈥淣ot about trivial, but the real issues.鈥�

And in this respect, Senator Sanders may be defining the entire Democratic presidential race.听

A pro-Clinton super political action committee (PAC), Correct the Record, sent one reporter an e-mail criticizing Sanders last month,听 the self-proclaimed Democratic socialist with the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and Britain's new Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.听

Unlike most super PACs, Correct the Record coordinates directly with Clinton鈥檚 campaign. Sanders鈥檚 voter base took offense and responded accordingly.

Immediately after the e-mail was sent, Sanders鈥檚 campaign , 鈥淚t鈥檚 the second time a billionaire Super PAC has tried to stop the momentum of the political revolution we鈥檙e building together.鈥� The Vermont senator raised more than in less than 48 hours, making it clear that taking the high road hasn鈥檛 necessarily been negative for his campaign.听

It may also suggest that Clinton may have to be cautious about publicly attacking Sanders on the campaign trail. Because by avoiding negative attacks himself, he is daring competitors to throw the first punch.听

[Editor's note:听An earlier version misstated the medium by which Correct the Record's听criticism was transmitted.]