Does Bernie Sanders actually have a chance of becoming our president?

Well, he's got a chance. But I doubt if it's a very good one.

To start with, he doesn't any good cards to play. Maybe I'm just cynical... But I honestly believe that people voted for Obama largely because he was black, and they wanted to participate in that whole "First Black President" moment. Similarly, Clinton has the edge with the potential to be the historic "First Female President". Sanders is just another white guy, and we've had lots of them as president.

Then you've got all the Super Delegates that've already pledged their vote to Clinton.

And I suspect that his politics are a little too left-leaning for a general election. As a genuine liberal myself, I'm certainly interested in a candidate that's talking about Single Payer Healthcare and breaking up the Big Banks... But I think there are a lot of people who won't see those talking points as a Good Thing.

But, beyond the question of whether he's got a chance of getting elected... There's the bigger question of whether it would really matter. Obama talked about Single Payer Healthcare during his campaign, too - but we didn't get it.

Again, maybe I'm just cynical... But I can't help thinking that even if Sanders gets elected, he's not going to be able to deliver on many of those promises he's making. He'll be President - not King. And the President doesn't actually have all that much power. He can influence policy, sure... But it's still up to the House and Senate to pass the bills. Anything Sanders wants to accomplish will still have to make it through the legislative process.

I strongly suspect that even if Sanders gets elected, we just aren't going to see any kind of meaningfully "liberal" or "progressive" changes. It's just going to be politics as usual.