This may have been asked before, but honestly, i'm too lazy to search for it. So, just as it says in the title; What if Bernie Sanders ran his first Presidential campaign in 2008? Assuming he ran as a Democrat, as he did in 2016, what impact would his presence have on the race? Would he have much of any chance at the nomination? Personally, while I'm unsure as to whether or not he could've won, I often hear people talk about Barack Obama having only been able to win on the heels of a terrible situation inherited from George W. Bush. Obama's themes of hope and change could (in some respects) be easily transplanted to Sanders' campaign, although not necessarily in the same sense. But would Sanders have been too radical in 2008, seeing as that was a strong point of criticism even in 2016? Could he have been chosen as a running mate for Obama, Hillary Clinton, or any of the other candidates (in a situation where, perhaps, Sanders siphons away enough votes from those two to deny either the nomination)? And, just for the sake of it, what if he did win the nomination? How would the GOP react, and would John McCain still be their nominee? And, even further, what if he won the General Election, and became President of the United States in 2009?