I was here in 2008. I supported Obama. But I don't recall being told that there could be

[MADem]

152. Well, he wouldn't have been--the first Jew, that is--to compete for the office, at any rate.

Many people do not realize that John Kerry, with his Irish name, doesn't have an Irish bone in his body. His grandparents (Fritz Kohn--later changed to "Kerry" -- and Ida Lowe) were Jews. They did what many did (Madeleine Albright's family, e.g.) for purposes of self-preservation, and subjugated their faith along with the name change.

Barry Goldwater had Jewish heritage (though he affiliated with a Christian denomination--Episcopalians or something on those lines, IIRC) and he received the GOP nomination. LBJ dispatched him rather handily, but his religious or ethnic ancestry wasn't at issue--his right-wing views took center stage.

Sanders is secular--the rabbi in Burlington says he doesn't participate in the religious community and is a 'universalist,' that's discussed in the links below.

Clinton is the only woman to gain a major party POTUS nomination; it's a pretty big deal.

There was plenty of cheery discussion about Sanders' ethnicity and faith origins in the mainstream press (noting that SANDERS didn't want to talk about it, in some cases--see the NPR story below), both here in USA, in Israel, and around the world. If you missed the coverage, you just weren't looking for it.

Here's some background:

http://www.npr.org/2015/11/02/454051697/sanders-could-be-the-first-jewish-president-but-doesnt-like-to-talk-about-it

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/10/13/bernie-sanders-who-could-get-farther-than-any-jewish-candidate-for-president-has-just-opened-up-about-his-jewishness/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/10/24/bernie-sanders-our-first-agnostic-president/

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/us/politics/bernie-sanders-jewish.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/15/opinion/campaign-stops/bernie-sanders-and-a-first-for-jews.html?opinion&_r=0

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/192931/bernie-sanders-story

http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/A-look-into-the-Jewish-side-of-US-presidential-candidate-Bernie-Sanders-428701

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/bernie-sanders-bids-for-jewish-history/429252/

There's lots more on those lines out on the web.