Nobody has ever accused embattled Democratic U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of being the grassroots choice, so it’s not surprising that he took an opportunity to tamp down fervor over the fellow U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described “I am supporting Hillary Clinton, because I think that she will be ready to take the job the day she’s in the job,” he told the audience. “I’ve worked with Bernie for years in the Senate and I share very much his emphasis on income inequality and the importance of dealing with this if we’re going to have a democracy and an economy that we’re going to recognize in the 21st century.”
He also criticized Sanders for not being more practical, saying “he has a far more optimistic view of the federal government’s ability to help solve that and … to me there’s not a lot of evidence that relying on those institutions is going to get America where it needs to be.”
Bennet went on to say that Sanders doesn’t understand the intersection of education and inequality — despite the fact the Democratic candidate is focused those issues in his presidential bid.
“I’m very concerned that we have an education system that’s actually reinforcing the income inequality that we have as a country, rather than unleashing the human potential of people who may be born poor,” Bennet said. “Bernie doesn’t, this is not a focus for Bernie. It’s never been a focus for Bernie, and it’s not a focus for Bernie now. We’ve had a lot of conversations about it.
“And so, that’s not the reason I’m not supporting him,” he continued, “the reason is I think Hillary Clinton will be the most prepared president when she becomes president of anybody in modern American history maybe since George Bush, the father.”