Bernstein insists that we need to take Sander’s numbers seriously, but not literally. He says that Bernie’s proposals are more “aspirational than realistic.”

This, of course has become a familiar feature of our politics. Politicos who indulge in the politics of aspiration make “bold” proposals that they have no intention of actually enacting. Donald Trump claimed that he would build a big, beautiful wall and that Mexico would pay for it. Elizabeth Warren proposes a plan for everything and says that her new “wealth tax” will cover the tab. Bernie and the others embrace sweeping environmental schemes that are unconnected with reality.

And no one takes them literally. Of course. Because the fundamental unseriousness is baked in.

So now the question is whether the Democrats as a whole will embrace the mantle of fiscal frivolity, by nominating a man who is making promises that they know he can never possibly keep.