Get out the popcorn. It's November.

It's time for a little politics. Very little. As you may know, 2016 is a presidential election year in the US. That means that this year, dozens of hopefuls of all political persuasions are dashing about trying to convince the public that they are 'presidential' – that they have what it takes to be a great leader. They are not having a lot of success so far.

Serious-minded people are somewhat exasperated at a line-up that includes, on the Republican side, Mr Donald Trump, the megalomaniacal estate agent. He somehow reminds us of the Scunner Campbell in Super Gran. Then there's Mr Jeb Bush, who told reporters the other day that if given use of a time machine, yes, he would go back and kill Adolf Hitler as an infant – then launched into a discussion of time travel based on his viewing of the film Back to the Future. Then there are the 'debates': audiences are hard-put to decide which is more annoying, the questions put by the clueless newspeople, or the inane answers the would-be candidates come up with. One of the Democratic hopefuls disgraced himself by constantly whining that they didn't ask him enough questions. So we're really glad to have a truly interesting candidate to report on: Bernie Sanders.

Not only would Mr Sanders, if elected, be the first Jewish president, but he would also be the first Socialist elected to this high office. After all, Sanders is the man who, as mayor of Burlington, Vermont, established a sister-city relationship between his town and one in Nicaragua. The press called his administration the 'Sandernistas'. He and his wife spent their honeymoon in the Soviet Union, hammering out another sister-city agreement there. He's a wonder, and defies expectations.

Sanders is also multi-talented. Watch the short subject.

Today's Short Subject: Back in the l980s, Sanders recorded some folk music. You might enjoy his Shatner-like rendition of Where Have All the Flowers Gone? Unfortunately, it's not a live performance. Bernie is usually described as 'rumpled'. Now 74, he is known for his wildly waving white hair – one commentator remarked that he usually looked as if he'd been blown in by a tornado, and sounded as if he were trying to outshout one.

Today's Feature Film: This one needs a little bit of explanation. In my researches, I discovered another delightful fact about Bernie Sanders. As a young newcomer to his adopted state of Vermont, Bernie couldn't find suitable employment. The Brooklyn-born, college-educated former kibbutznik tried a little educational history writing. (Ah! A fellow history writer!) In those pre-internet days, Sanders produced educational filmstrips about lesser-known American political figures. And his favourite, the one he treasured most, was…wait for it…

Eugene V Debs! Yes, this guy. If you don't make it through the whole filmstrip, manage to watch the first slide: that's Sanders talking, haranguing us about the sins of knowing more about Kojak, Wonder Woman, and several kinds of underarm deodorant than a GREAT man like Gene Debs.

Fans of The West Wing, this is like running Toby Ziegler for president. Only Bernie's louder. People like him, not only weird leftists, but Libertarians and other independent types. He runs around yelling, 'Come see the violence inherent in the system!' and 'We're an autonomous collective!', and then answers constituents' phone calls at 3 am, and makes sure the potholes get fixed. People write him fan songs like this one.

Why should Brits care? Bernie has a brother, Larry Sanders. If you live in Oxford West and Abingdon, you probably know who he is. He stood for Parliament this year, unsuccessfully, as a Green Party candidate. Wouldn't it be great if…? Oh, the idea of the US president needing to talk to the PM and saying, 'Get my brother on the phone…' I can't stand it. Politics should be this much fun.

Oh, and here's a Bernie Sanders TV advert that tells a bit more about him, and demonstrates how desperately he needs to be followed around by an assistant with a comb.