WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – On Tuesday, Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for president and announced that he would do "everything" he can to ensure Clinton wins the White House in November.
"This move is consistent with Sanders’ campaign and his sense of ambition and self-interest," Eurasian Business Council Vice President and political analyst Ralph Winnie told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Sanders wants to be a leader in the Democratic Party after this election, Winnie explained, and continue a strong career in the Senate.
Sanders was also rallying around the party’s leader in a way that modern Democrats had learned how to do effectively in order to present a united front when waging national election campaigns, Winnie noted.
"You look at the Democrats and they’re really unifying around Hillary Clinton. They’re very good about that. It means they don’t have to devote any resources or distract attention to secure dissident parts of their base the way [Republican presumptive candidate Donald] Trump has to," he said.
Although Sanders is 74, if Clinton’s presidency is not a success or if she loses her election bid he still hopes to run again in four yours, Winnie suggested.
"The only way to achieve that and all of these goals is to endorse Hillary’s candidacy now," Winnie claimed.
Sanders had also ensured that Clinton would have to regard him and the movement he represented if she was elected president, Winnie maintained.
"There will certainly be something for Sanders if Clinton wins the presidency. He has, after a large and influential political base of his own that Clinton must satisfy to some degree. There will therefore be some sort of accommodation," Winnie said.
These kinds of deals were usual between dueling candidates at the end of long campaigns, Winnie argued.
"This is not unprecedented. Barack Obama had to Hilary Clinton into his administration as secretary of state. He had to make a deal with her to ensure her support in his election campaign. It is all a game of politics. It is all about looking after one’s own political interests," he said.
Political analyst and author Joe Lauria told Sputnik that Sanders had only endorsed Clinton under pressure.
"I suspect he did it reluctantly because he pledged to and Sanders appears to be more of a man of his word than most politicians," he said.
To Sanders’ supporters, his endorsement of Clinton would not amount to much and the help it would afford her was likely to prove minimal, Lauria concluded.
According to US media reports on Tuesday, Clinton was considering NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe James Stavridis, along with senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, as potential running mates.
