If he doesn't run for the Senate in 2000, he'll have to wait until 2006 to get another crack at it, and by then he'll be 65. Time waits for no politician, not even a screaming radical from Brooklyn and the University of Chicago. On the other hand, it's always seemed to us that the job Sanders always wanted is governor of Vermont. If you really want to change society, a governorship is the way to do it. Washington is too far away and too far out of it.
Governor is a tough job, but it makes a difference.
It appears that Governor Dean will run for governor in 2000, but not in 2002, whether he's been re-elected or not, especially if Al Gore is the next president. Also, if the Democrats win the US House back, which is likely, he'll get a chairmanship. It's very unlikely the Democrats will regain the US Senate. It's traditionally been thought of as Republican territory. If Sanders runs for Senate and wins, he'll be back to being on the lowest rung in the minority party.