Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) is a delightfully cranky, fussy old man, a new Free Beacon SuperCut shows.
Sanders has some of the best personal favorability numbers of any candidate in the Republican or Democratic presidential races for, among other reasons, his realness and distaste for things most people can agree are bad.
He does not like the media.
He does not like Hillary Clinton sycophant David Brock.
He does not like puerile debate queries, once telling MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, "That question annoys me."
He does not like catcalling at his town halls.
He does not like dumb Iowa street interlopers cutting into his interview with RT anchor Ed Schultz, snapping at them earlier this month, "Excuse me? Excuse me! I'm talking to him. You know, that's not very nice."
A lesser candidate might have pretended not to be irritated by people interrupting a live TV appearance on the eve of the election's first caucus. Sanders, who's 74 years old and couldn't likely imagine when he began running last year that he'd give Clinton such fits, didn't care.
When he tried to take a walk in New Hampshire and was surrounded by reporters, he sniffed sarcastically, "Usually I like to take nice, quiet walks. Apparently, not today. But I thank you all for the company."
Sanders is, of course, a proud Democratic socialist who might be sort of an existential threat to American capitalism. Nevertheless, I applaud his curmudgeonliness and stance against pointless niceties.
Meanwhile, his elderly opponent Hillary Clinton shouts too much, has a bad cough that pops up at inopportune times, and likes the sauce. Nevertheless, this eternally staged candidate will likely defeat Sanders for the 2016 Democratic nomination.
But another man who spits in the face of social norms, with far less subtlety or civility, waits in the wings.