Bernie Sanders makes his run at stopping the Clinton juggernaut

Mere months ago, the thought of anyoneposing a serious threat to Hillary Clinton'sDemocraticpresidential campaignwas wishful thinking at best.

But with the Iowa caucusjust weeks away, herecomesVermontSenator Bernie Sanders, the self-described "democratic socialist,"making what looks to bea real competitive run for the nomination.

"Ithink you still have to consider [Clinton]as the prohibitive favourite or the strong favourite," saysSean Trende, a senior elections analyst for RealClearPolitics.com.

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"You cannot look at the numbersin Iowaand New Hampshire and nationallyand not think 'OK,maybe it's going to happen again.'"

The reference, of course, is to the 2008 nomination campaign when an unproven one-term senator, Barack Obama,came from behind and went on to defeat the better known Clinton in the primaries.

Whether the 74-year-old Sanders, who has been drawing large enthusiastic crowds to his campaign events recently,can repeat this feat is unclear.

Recent polls showhe's competitive inIowa, leading in New Hampshire, the next-door state to his native Vermont,and polling within single digits of Clinton nationally.

Like a certain New York real estate magnate, he has been able totapinto a part of a dissatisfiedelectorate, in his case attracting mostly working-class Americans who feel that the system is rigged against them.

Authenticity

Garrison Nelson, a University of Vermont political science professor who has known Sandersfor 40 years, says his basic appeal boils down to one word: authenticity.

"I've heard him make the same arguments for 40 years. He has not differed a whit," Nelson said."And at a time when people are tired of politicians making promises that they cannot fulfil and taking stances they abandon once elections are over, having someone like Bernie Sanders out there is refreshing."

Thatauthentic label is one that could alsoaccount in part for the broad support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. But there are key differences.Trump's base of discontented voters seems to encompass thosetargeting the weaker end of the spectrum like poor immigrants from Mexico, Nelson says.

Meanwhile,Sanders supporters target thoseat the upper end:the millionaires and billionaireswho he and his followers believe haveenriched themselves over the past 20 years with no discernable change inthe financialwell-being of themiddle and working classes.

Sanders's attacks on Wall Street havemade him a champion of the progressive wing of the Democratic party, those whobelievethat the principalproblem in the economy is not growthbut inequality,saysWilliam A.Galston, a senior fellow at theBrookingsInstitute and a former policy adviser to Bill Clinton.

"It is very clear that Sandershasfounda real audience with thesorts ofpeople whohoped for more from BarackObama than they got," Galston said.

"Obama, in the end, did not emergeas thekindof class warrior that a lot of people wanted, and Bernie Sanders is the closestthing to a class warrior that we've seen in a very long time."

'Vanilla socialist'

As Nelsonputs it, Sanders is somewhat of a political phenomenon, a left-wing evangelical, who has carved out success in a country where describing oneself as a liberal is often considered political suicide.

But he describes Sanders as more of a "vanilla socialist" who is different from other socialists because "he wants to win."

Sanderswas never a hippie, saidNelson, nor a 1960s social or cultural radical. Instead, his politics are more akin to the 1930s and 40s socialism oftrade unionsand president Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

Hisagenda is mostly a laundry list of liberal causes:tax reforms that targetcorporations, more aggressive programs to redistribute wealth, tighter regulations on Wall Street,opposition to trade dealslike NAFTAand theTrans-Pacific Partnership, free tuition for public colleges and universities, and support ofuniversal health care.

"Idon't thinkBernie Sandersisa democraticsocialist. He's a social democrat," said Galston. "The programs he's advocating would be perfectly recognizable in the Nordic countries. He's a northern European social democrat of a type that I think Canadians have more experience with than Americans do."

At the same time, Sanders has also drawn praise from someRepublicans on issues such as immigration reform, as members fromboth camps fear allowing more guest workers in will suppress the wages of U.S. workers.

On guncontrol, as well, he has been criticized by gun control advocates for his mixedrecord, which includes voting against theso-called Brady Bill, one of the earlier attempts at reform.

His political career began in Burlington, Vt., where he was elected mayor in 1981 by just 10 votes. He was later elected eight times to the U.S. Congress and twice to the Senate, all as an independent, making him the most successful independent U.S.politicianof all time.

He's a terrific street campaigner, say Garrison, yet his publicdemeanour is somewhat prickly, and he's not exactly known for shaking hands and kissing babies.

"He's going to discuss issues with you," Nelson said."I've watched him multipletimes, people yelling at him. And rather than walk away, he wouldgo up to them and ask them to explain themselves."

Still, while he may be attracting big crowds at the moment, and surging in the polls, he still faces many challenges in pulling off an Obama-like victory over Clinton.

In 2008,Clinton had more establishment support thanObamabutdidn't have close to majority support from elected Democratic officials in Congress or state governors,noted Harry Enten, a senior political analyst for the website FiveThirtyEight.com

"Now, she has the most support from these officials pre-Iowa caucus of any non-incumbent presidential candidate in the modern era," he said.

Sanders's support from white progressive males

The support for Sandersis mostly coming from white progressive males, and hetends to poll strongest in states with large white populations.

"That, of course, matches Iowa and New Hampshire to a T," Enten said.

For Sanders, the problem is that,after Iowa and New Hampshire, he will soon run into those Super Tuesday states that are in the South, heavilyminorityand strongly in favour Clinton, added Trende.

The question also becomes whether a politician holding such left-leaning views could win the presidency.

"There's not a socialist majority in the U.S," said Galston. "There's not even a majority for the Europeanization of the Americansocial welfare state.

"American politicalculturedefaults to mistrust of government, and right now, mistrust of governmentis at a peak. And so here's SenatorSanders coming along saying, 'You mistrust government now? I'm going to give you a much bigger governmentto mistrust.'"