Donald and Bernie Alike?

Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have one thing in common, anyway.

In their respective parties, both presidential candidates have impacted markedly the level of intelligent conversation and focus on the crucial issues of the day.

The Donald, of course, has lowered the bar for his fellow Republican presidential candidates. Bernie, for the Democrats, has raised it.

"The Donald," appropriately enough, has reduced the Republican debates to mere slapstick comedies complete with clownish cheap shots, one-line zingers designed to sting and illicit a good laugh from the audience.

In the meantime, Sanders, as evidenced from the get-go in the initial Democrat presidential debate last Tuesday, has inspired his fellow candidates to harp on the one issue that arguably is the most crucial to 99 percent of Americans: income inequality.

And he is doing it without outrageous claims or crude, insulting remarks.

The top Democrat candidates Tuesday night opened their speeches talking about income inequality, which sees this country's richest one percent owning nearly 50 percent of the wealth.

In case you missed it, Sanders has been shouting from the rooftops about this absurd injustice for years now, particularly since the Wall Street-orchestrated, right wing think tank-endorsed near collapse of our economy in 2007 under "W"'s watch.

Now, if only the American people would pay attention. If only they will tune out American Idol, and tune in to Eisenhower's decades old call for an "alert and knowledgeable citizenry." And then, act.