Bernie Sanders' appearance was unlike other presidential candidate events

A view of Sunday's Luther College crowd

There's been a lot of attention paid to businessman Donald Trump as the "biggest surprise" of the 2016 Presidential campaign.  But just as good of a case could be made that the title ought to go to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont's campaign for the Democratic Party nomination for President.

Sanders' campaign came to Luther College on Sunday afternoon--and the result was an event unlike that of any other presidential candidate not named "Trump."  Long lines of people waiting to get into the event spread out from the Luther Regents Center.  Inside, organizers kept having to open up more space for people inside the gym.  Whereas many Presidential candidates speak to small crowds in coffee shops or factories, Sanders spoke to a crowd that filled up the available space in the gym.  "This is a lot of people," he remarked when he came onto the stage set up in the center of the basketball court.

But it wasn't just the turnout that was unusual.  Sanders noted that he was called a "fringe candidate" when he started his campaign nine months ago.  He also began his campaign by stating he would not accept contributions from political action committees--normally the source of millions of dollars in money for a campaign.  Instead, he accepted donations on-line--and wound up getting 2.5 million people to contribute.

All this is fairly unlikely for someone who looks more like a college professor than a presidential candidate.  He even talks like a college professor, giving a 70-minute speech that was filled with policy discussions.

Somehow, improbably, it is working for Sanders.  Polls show him with a good chance to win next Monday's Iowa Democratic Party Caucus.  That would be one more surprising development in a presidential campaign that has been filled with such moments.