On Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent and self-described democratic socialist, officially announced his intention to be the Democratic Party’s next presidential nominee. As Nate Silver and innumerable lesser lights will tell you, his chances of winning are vanishingly small. But at least primary voters who find former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton too moderate now have the option of voting for someone else.

If his campaign is to do real good, he’ll have to avoid the temptation to wage scorched-earth attacks on Clinton