ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Five minutes into part two of the Democratic Party’s presidential debates, and already the attacks on President Donald Trump were a’comin’.

Kudos for Sen. Bernie Sanders, called to defend his socialism, for striking first and hard. He had to; his hard-core brand of socialism can’t withstand scrutiny, so his only choice is to distract with attack.

Anyhow. The question: Mr. Sanders, some say socialism won’t win against Trump — so how will you win?

Sanders: “Trump is a phony … a pathological liar … a racist … he lied during his campaign … he said he was going to stand up for working families [and didn’t]. … That’s how we beat Trump. We expose him.”

Great.

So Sanders, the self-declared democratic socialist, the man with the wealth redistribution plan, the guy who just a little while ago called Venezuela the dream of the American people — Sanders’s big plan is to slam Trump as a “pathological liar” enough times that voters say, why by gosh, you’re right, let’s vote the Sanders ticket.

Once again, for the Democrats in the back of the room: One major issue with the left is its members’ failures to formulate a winning strategy that lays out a motivational political message — one that actually brings voters to the poll.

“Trump’s a liar,” “Trump’s a racist, “Trump’s pathological” — these may make for interesting headlines, or even applause-worthy sound bites from the far left base. But winning the election?

That they don’t. That they won’t.

And if this is what Sanders has to offer, if this is how the socialist plans to win against Trump, well then, hooray for Trump. His second term looks to be smooth sailing.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter, @ckchumley.

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