I have a strong suspicion that the large majority of the pundits who are just so sure (or perhaps were so sure?) that Bernie cannot possibly win have never taken the time to listen to his stump speech.
I have been watching Bernie for years when he appeared occasionally as a commentator on MSNBC; he became a real favorite of mine. When I heard that he was going to run for President, I was excited, though, like others, I thought it was a bit quixotic.
When Bernie made his West coast tour, I was able to watch his L.A. Sports Arena appearance on a live computer feed - the one where he was introduced by Sarah Silverman.
By the end of it, I was sitting there almost slack-jawed, saying to myself over and over, "There's going to be a tidal wave..." It was the most overwhelming political experience of my life. I could envision the raw enthusiasm that the people who had attended that speech were taking back to their communities.
For the next few days, I informed my friends of my newfound conviction that Bernie had a real chance to win; that indeed I would be willing to bet on it. Uniformly, they thought I was daft - even though most of them also liked Bernie. One of them took my bet.
My subsequent efforts to learn more about Bernie and his wholly admirable career as a governor and congressman only confirmed my conviction. Bernie is the REAL deal!
You cannot possibly understand the Bernie phenomenon without listening to his stump speech. One person has analogized it to watching a batting practice in which the batter smashes pitch after pitch out of the ballpark, and the crowd explodes each time. The fact of the matter is, this rumpled elderly man who comes out on stage with hand-written notes on a yellow note pad is a SUPERSTAR!! And all these years we hadn’t known it because the mass media have been largely dismissive of his truly progressive proposals.
How could anyone listen to Bernie's speech, and then listen to one of Hillary’s talks – and prefer Hillary?!
If you don't yet "feel the Bern", or if you have grave doubts that Bernie can win, please take the time - can you spare 75 minutes? - to listen to his stump speech online. Some of these are posted on berniesanders.com, but you may also be able to watch a live speech at bernie2016.tv. And you can often find links to live feeds in DKos diaries.
I think it would be a good idea for Bernie's campaign to prepare a DVD of Bernie's stump speech - it could be from a single speech, or could combine footage from several rallies - and sell it at cost to his fans. This could be used to carry Bernie's message to people - elderly people in particular - who may not be very computer-oriented, but who do have DVD players.