Poll: 57% of Dem. voters want candidates "more like Bernie Sanders"

[Jim Lane]

139. Every poll involves such decisions.

You write, "This was far far from an objective poll." It didn't ask every single question that you would've asked, but that's a far, far cry from saying it wasn't objective.

Just speculating, off the top of my head: IIRC, Hillary Clinton has said, or at least hinted, that she doesn't anticipate running for elective office again. Among people who (1) currently hold elective office and (2) are widely thought to be possible contenders in 2020, my guess is that the two with the highest national name recognition are Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. The poll didn't ask about Tulsi Gabbard or Tim Kaine, either.

I realize that, from your point of view, the following is the key consideration: "The question was asked about a republican, and Independent, and no Democrats." DU has a large and vocal (boy, are they vocal) contingent who harp on this "issue" of party identification at every opportunity. You might at least try to stretch your perceptions enough to realize that that focus is not universal. It was not shared by millions of D-after-their-names Democrats who voted for Bernie in the primaries. It is not shared by the Vermont Democratic Party. It has not been shared in the past by the Vermonters who voted in the Democratic primary for Senate. It will probably not be shared by those who vote this year, even though they've been repeatedly told on DU that they should not vote for Bernie but should instead vote for someone who will run in November on the Democratic line. Finally, it is not shared by the members of the Democratic caucus in the United States Senate, which has treated Bernie as a full member. (If the Democrats retake the Senate majority this year, Bernie will chair a committee, probably Budget.)

Now, you're entitled to cling to your belief that all of these people are making a horrible mistake. For current purposes, I ask only that you recognize that formal party identification doesn't universally have the importance that you and others ascribe to it.

With that in mind, here's my guess as to the answer to your question: If I had decided to ask this question (which I might not, because "more like" is an amorphous quality), and if I had to pick only two people to name (because it's not feasible to name all the two dozen or so people who've been mentioned as possible Democratic nominees), and if I were picking the two politicians to be named -- then I'd probably pick Sanders and Trump, as being the two current officeholders and possible 2020 candidates who offer the best combination of national prominence and ideological opposition.

What I certainly would not do would be to dismiss the poll as biased if it didn't happen to ask exactly the questions I wanted posed.