Sen. Bernie Sanders Succumbs to <em>Playboy</em>

Even if you're Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) -- 72, balding, and not exactly GQ material -- how could you turn down Playboy? Well, you can't. Sanders is featured in the November issue, which hits newsstands today. As it turns out, Sanders is the November Playboy interview. They're billing is "a candid conversation with the Vermont maverick about the end of the Middle Class, avoiding foreign wars and why he hates both political parties." Is there anything other than candid with Sanders? But most importantly, how much skin did the senator show? Ugh. Unfortunately, none. "LOL, sadly no," Playboy's Theresa Hennessey told FishbowlDC when we asked. An excerpt from the interview is below. On Bill Clinton and Obama: “Clinton was and is a very smart guy, but he is the guy who signed NAFTA. I like Bill Clinton, I like Hillary Clinton, but they live in a world surrounded by a lot of money. It’s not an accident that Clinton is doing a fantastic job with his foundation. Where do you think that money is coming from? The point being that Clinton was a moderate Democrat who was heavily influenced by Wall Street and big-money interests, and Obama is governing in that same way.” On public indifference to political issues: “If you go out and talk to people and say, ‘Hey, the Celtics beat the Knicks last night. Let’s talk about that, or let’s talk about the football game,’ that’s part of the vernacular. If you say to somebody, ‘What are you doing to try to improve life for the middle class?’ they’ll look at you as if you’re crazy. The idea that collective action can improve our quality of life and make gains for working families—I don’t think that’s part of people’s worldview.” On running for president in 2016: “I care a lot about working families. I care a lot about the collapse of the American middle class. I care a lot about the enormous wealth and income disparity in our country. I care a lot that poverty in America is near an all-time high but hardly anyone talks about it. I realize running for president would be a way to shine a spotlight on these issues that are too often in the shadows today. [pauses] But I am at least 99 percent sure I won’t.”

Fishbowl

Sen. Bernie Sanders Succumbs to Playboy

Betsy Rothstein

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Betsy Rothstein