CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — About 3,000 mostly young Midwesterners came to see Bernie Sanders and a speech by Bernie Sanders. Almost two hours into the event, neither Bernie nor the band had taken the stage. Instead, the crowd was treated to at least five speeches and a panel.

Yes, a panel. Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Pramila Jayapal of Washington, along with Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, got interviewed by Sanders's Iowa co-chairman Stacey Walker. None of these people are compelling speakers. The panel was like the worst Washington, D.C., think tank panels, where each question was a lame softball and each answer was a wandering, lengthy, scripted speech.

Michael Moore and Nina Turner were entertaining enough with their speeches, but both were long. Jane Sanders came in just before 8 p.m. and went on for a bit herself. Oh, and Cornel West spoke too.

As a result, a bunch of young people who came to see either Vampire Weekend, Bernie Sanders, or both, had to wait nearly two hours to hear from either. Sanders finally took the stage at 7:54 p.m., nearly two hours after the event started — and nearly three hours after doors opened.