“One of the things that is going on in this campaign is that Bernie Sanders is too ambitious, he’s thinking too big,” Sanders said. “Well, I don’t think so. I mean virtually every idea that we are bringing forth not only is the right idea, it’s what our country needs, it’s what the American people want.”

Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, ticked off some of his proposals, including ushering in a “state-of-the-art, cutting-edge child-care system,” each time telling his audience that the idea wasn’t as “radical” as it’s been portrayed.

Sanders said his aim on child care is to create a system so that “when mom goes to work and dad goes to work, parents can find quality child care with well-paid, well-trained educators.”

AD

AD

“Anyone think that’s a wild and crazy idea?” the senator from Vermont asked. “That’s what we owe our children.”

Sanders spoke at a restaurant in front of a racially mixed crowd of about 100 people at an event where his appearance was not advertised. Actor Danny Glover, a Sanders supporter, was billed as the top draw as part of an effort to drum up enthusiasm in advance of Saturday’s Democratic primary in South Carolina.

Polls have showed Clinton with a substantial lead in the state, based largely on her stronger standing with African Americans, who in 2008 made up more than half of the Democratic primary electorate.

Later in his remarks, Sanders also touted his plans to make college tuition free at public universities and colleges — an idea that has appealed especially to young voters, who are some of his most loyal supporters.

AD

AD

“Oh, my goodness, what a radical idea it is,” Sanders said sarcastically of his college proposal.

He argued that several decades ago a public high school education allowed someone to get a pretty good job but said that is no longer the case.

“Why is it a radical idea to say that public education today should not end in the 12th grade?” Sanders asked. “Is that a radical idea? Ask the people in Germany, ask the people in Scandinavia. They invest in their kids.”

Without mentioning Clinton by name, Sanders spoke dismissively of the kind of incremental approach to policy-making that she has advocated.

“Do not allow people to say to you, ‘Think small. We can’t do this. It’s too big of an idea,’” Sanders said. “If we take that mentality, nothing would have ever been accomplished. If we had that mentality of thinking small, do you think we would have had an African American as president of the United States today?”