2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Today proves Hillary has done a terrible job of wrapping this up! [View all]Hydra
(14,459 posts)He was running on the same platform as Clinton, except for the insurance mandate, which he wound up doing later anyway. That split the support immediately- if you can't run on differences, you have to run on charisma and ability to connect with the voters.
Clinton was running as the first woman president, and she is still getting a lot of support for that. Obama managed to gain a lead by delivering a message of hope to the people who usually don't vote and daring them to believe.
This cycle is different- Clinton had no other rival from inside the party structure, except the hints of a possible Biden run. No one had the money or support of the party. The Left can always be counted on to support the nominee, no matter how bad. The media has happily carried water for her.
So how did a marginalized (I) Senator from Vermont with red scare labels all over him manage to get this far, with so many ties even wins? He should still be at 5%, and someone else should have been the standard bearer of the non-Clintons, which by rights should be less than 20% of the party.
What happened, do you think?