What is the difference between a political book and a political manifesto? Answer: absolutely nothing. This becomes abundantly evident in Bernie Sanders' book "Where We Go From Here" which reads more like a biography of a future presidential candidate than an autobiographical account of a presidential campaign gone by. The chapters are structured like two years' worth of diary entries; Sanders tells of visits to thirty-two different states (he did not consider it worth messing with Texas) that he made after losing the battle to become the Democratic nominee for President. His mission was to promote progressive candidates, and by association, to promote his own policies and interests.
Sanders likes to document the size of the crowds assembled to listen to his rhetoric - he seems unnaturally obsessed with this statistic - and he also quotes almost verbatim most of his speeches, no matter the length. Whilst distancing himself from President Trump, he also seems to share many of his concerns and opinions; a disdain for the mainstream media, for example, whom he sees as owned by conglomerates with their own interests; he also has a general disrespect for politicians in general on both sides of the House.
Despite Sanders' view of himself as a bit of a political maverick and an outsider, his book is surprisingly standard fare in that it presents all of his platforms for the reader to absorb, much like a manifesto or a text book. Although he likes to present himself as an anti-establishment kind of guy, he is actually among the longest-serving Senators of his generation, and for much of his career he has been an Independent, although he has often been the swing vote that was needed in the House to ensure a Democratic victory.
After unsuccessfully battling Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in 2016, Sanders has declared as a candidate for President for the Democratic Party in the General Election of 2020.
