We got Cardi leaving the Bryant Park Hotel after a night of celebrating Jason Lee's birthday with Wendy Williams, and boy, she did not disappoint. Two things were on our photog's mind -- Bernie Sanders and Jay-Z.

He asked about her interview with Bernie, which was better than the sterile, canned interviews in traditional media, but turns out that's not gonna be her thing ... she says her mouth is "too slick" for a talk show.

And, then there's Jay-Z, who's taking a lot of heat for partnering with the NFL. Cardi has a different view, saying she believes he'll change the culture in the League and might even get Colin Kaepernick a quarterback gig. Not sure about that, but love her POV.

Here's the thing about Cardi. She showed everyone during her chitchat with Bernie how she can have conversations with politicians ... not just fire questions at them. She uses her experiences to punctuate her points, and at least in Bernie's case, he connected with her in a big way.

Here's what we think ... if she wants to keep doing this, it would touch millions of people who couldn't care less about politics, especially the way it's currently presented. And, if she does, any candidate who doesn't sit down with her is missing the boat.