On Monday, Catherine Lucey of the Associated Press played up how Bernie Sanders's supporters find his "grouchy persona" to be "one of his charms." Lucey touted how "Democratic imaginations and hearts are fired up by a white-haired 74-year-old socialist who is riding a populist surge." She also underlined how Sanders's backers "believe him when he bellows his unvarnished liberal message, pledging to work for single-payer health care, paid maternity leave and a higher minimum wage."
The correspondent led her item, "Sanders gets grumpy, but voters like him that way," by spotlighting the Vermont senator's apparent aversion to kissing babies: "Bernie Sanders doesn't kiss babies. He promises them a revolution. 'This is for you'" the upstart Democratic presidential candidate told 3-month-old Lily Landretti after an event in southeastern Iowa. He meant his insurgent campaign. Lily just kept gurgling."
Lucey continued that "in an age of carefully planned campaigns, the Vermont senator is different. A self-identified grump, Sanders gets angry, rolls up his sleeves and winds up drenched in sweat. Like Donald Trump in the Republican race, Sanders has been drawing big crowds and giving the buttoned-up candidates a run for their money."
The Associated Press journalist spent eight straight paragraphs to the supporters's praise of the Democratic presidential candidate:
For his supporters, Sanders' grouchy persona is one of his charms. They say he feels like a real person, not a slick politician. They believe him when he bellows his unvarnished liberal message, pledging to work for single-payer health care, paid maternity leave and a higher minimum wage.
"I wanted to give him a hug," said Lily's mom, Jane Landretti, 37, of Madison, Wisconsin. She said he's like a "very smart thinking grandpa."
Eight years ago, Barack Obama offered a message of hope and change, presenting himself as a leader from a new generation. This time around, Democratic imaginations and hearts are fired up by a white-haired 74-year-old socialist who is riding a populist surge.
...Iowa Democrats who attended Sanders' events during a recent swing said they just liked his style.
"I love a person who is going to stand up and be a straight shooter," said Lynnea Ellison, 62, of Fairfield, who watched Sanders address crowds in the Grinnell town square....
She added that Sanders will "lighten up on occasion, as when he joked in New Hampshire on the weekend that as socialist, he's out to rid the nation of pajamas in different colors and put everyone in flannel ones. He admires democratic socialist societies in Scandanavia, he says, not the North Korean model."
Later in the article, Lucey noted that the left-wing candidate's "brusque persona seems to extend off the podium. Recently in Iowa, he spent only limited time shaking hands or chatting with people after events." However, she also pointed out that "for some people, Sanders' unfiltered attitude is a welcome change from Clinton's more controlled style. She's also perceived as more of a political insider, though both have experience in elected office."
