If Bernie wins the Democratic nomination, how do you gauge his chances of winning the general?

[quaker bill]

61. I have been to this rodeo

If Bernie develops the organization and support to beat Hillary, he will have become such a persona as to be nearly unstoppable.

Barack became much larger by beating Hillary. Had Barack simply been handed the nomination without the contest, it would have been much more unlikely for him to win the general. He needed the contest and the effort to overcome the "unstoppable" or "inevitable" Hillary to sharpen his skills and be seen as large politically.

On the other side, JEB, while seen as somewhat large, could not provide the same sort of lift in defeat that Hillary would.

Having Hillary in the race and then beating her to the Nom is the only path that could lead to a national victory for Bernie. Beating her, done fairly, in the manner Bernie proposes, would make him seem politically heroic, and huge in the political landscape.

It is an interesting political scenario to toy around with as an intellectual exercise. There is however very little chance things actually play out like this.

More likely is the scenario where Bernie stays viable for long enough into the primary season to make an interesting sparring partner. This would be good for Hillary, much better than a coronation.