It is not an overstatement to say that Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign is centered around the idea of a single-payer health insurance system that would cover everything for everyone and be paid for by the government. Dubbed 'Medicare for All' (although the system Sanders envisions is hardly even Medicare as we know it), it is the rallying cry, the litmus test, and the lifeblood of Bernie 2020.



There has been plenty of questions about whether such a system can actually pass Congress. In public, Sanders claims he can will such a massive popular movement into place should he be elected president that Congress will have no choice. His supporters fantasize over the power of the bully pulpit.



I have discussed the sheer wishful thinking involved in this line of reasoning, but few have asked whether Bernie Sanders himself believes what he's selling. Does Bernie Sanders actually believe that he, as president, can pass and implement single-payer Medicare for All that make…