What Bernie does after he concedes the nomination could be critical. [View all]
There's no doubt that Bernie fires up a segment of the Democratic base for whom Hillary doesn't do much. And so there's concern that the primary campaign could hurt Hillary's chances in the GE, particularly if he starts attacking her more aggressively from the left. I don't think this will happen -- he's vowed not to go negative, and so far his "attacks" have been very mild.
On the other hand, there is also a great opportunity here to unite the party. From the day that Bernie concedes, there will be a number of progressives who will be deciding whether to stay home in November or to vote for Hillary. If Bernie decides to campaign for Hillary as forcefully as Hillary did for Obama in 08, this could be pivotal in turning out the base. We could end up with the best of both worlds: a candidate like Clinton with broad appeal and a strong and well-funded campaign, and also an enthusiastic base. In this "best case scenario", Dems could win not only the white house, but also the senate and possibly the house as well.
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