Bernie Sanders has been a personal hero of mine since the early years of the Clinton administration, when I was a middle-schooler, paying my first attention to politics.

I voted for Nader, twice. I once voted for Al Sharpton in a primary. Those were wasted votes.

I want this country to move to the left as much as anyone else in here does. (I also recognize that, given the way our system of government works, Hillary would move the country to the left just as readily as Bernie Sanders would, perhaps more, even if Bernie Sanders somehow could be elected.)

But all those times Barack Obama told us that fundamental change doesn't come from the top down. That was for real. Barack Obama wasn't a savior of American liberalism, and Bernie Sanders hasn't built nearly the same kind of movement as him. So I don't know what people are expecting from him.

When broader public opinion finally changes enough that "mainstream" Democrats don't have to hold their tongues or prevaricate on the serious issues, then we'll know the country is ready for lasting change. Bernie Sanders can't do that.