Bernie Sanders, whose candidacy when announced in front of a few people in a park seemed like a joke, has caught a wave of public opinion, some of it delusional, and he threatens to push HIllary Clinton to the side again in her attempts to be the first female president of the USA. With most pundits writing how America has shifted to the right, an avowed Socialist getting this far is quite surprising, but he has tapped into the resentments of the young and well-informed, mostly around the fact that our government works much better for you if you are extremely wealthy than if you are poor or a minority.
Many political writers have a slightly mocking tone as they discuss the youth who support him (especially young women), as if they are naive. Perhaps they are, as they only know the government doesn't work the way it should, but they don't really know why, how deep the rot that money and racism has gotten into the paths of power. That is where the "delusion" comes in: the government is rigged for the rich, but is there anything anybody can do about it? The press in general doesn't think so, and certainly doesn't think the elderly Mr. Sanders can, but the young and idealistic say, let's at least try, and they feel Senator Sanders is their best hope (it would be much better for him if he were young and handsome and saying the things he is saying) to make it happen, even if, in the end, he pushes his agenda on the more likely nominee, Ms. Clinton.
That said, Mr. Sanders has to be somewhat careful in his pursuit of the nomination, as he cannot allow the Republicans to get the White House. A Hillary presidency would be inevitable over the absolute loser she will be running against representing the Republicans, as none are even close to being as palatable as a chump like Mitt Romney was four years ago. A Bernie Sanders presidency would be more in doubt. He cannot tear down Ms. Clinton in order to buoy himself. In the end, it must be about the direction the president can take the country, and we do not want the Republicans with the map and the keys to the car.
So, rail against inequality, encourage more access to higher education and improving education overall, promise to improve the infrastructure, to continue to reform and improve both access to health care and making it more affordable when disaster strikes, but do not make Hillary Clinton seem any less appealing than she already is. Remind everyone, at every possibility, of how qualified she is, and how she would make a fine president and would be much, much better than anyone the Republicans come up with. Explain your differences with her, but without denigrating hers. Her ideas are really good, but yours are the best, that sort of thing. That Senator Sanders has gotten this far and has had the success he has had is remarkable, but he should not let his ego get in the way of changing America for the better.