Obviously, I’m a Bernie supporter. But, though heartened by last night, I still think he’ll come up short.
And I try to be honest with myself about why. For example, I think he’s only a mediocre communicator. He lacks flexibility in adapting himself to new contexts of application of his principles. His commitment to the economic issue goes past message discipline and into tone deafness on other issues. He has yet to find a way to connect to the institutional apparatus of the Democratic Party that he needs to win. He really is trailing in the delegate count. Etc. Etc.
But let’s set Bernie aside. Let’s look at Hillary. Can you supporters actually face up to her weaknesses? Honestly?
- She has a lot of baggage with the American people. Much of it is profoundly unfair, of course. But it’s there. And it is certain to have an impact in the general election. Can we agree that this is a significant danger?
- Hillary has a major problem with credibility. We can argue all day about whether that’s fair. And we can say that this year’s polling doesn’t link trustworthiness measures and support in the primaries. But. Seriously. Is this not a concern that she will be especially vulnerable in November?
- Much of her appeal in the primary is based on the “inevitability” meme. OK. But suppose that mem slips and people start to see her as vulnerable. Can we at least admit that Hillary without the inevitability meme becomes a seriously vulnerable candidate?
- The point is being made that Hillary’s success is focused in the South. There’s been a lot of confused discussion of this, including Waldman’s comments this morning. Let’s just think tactically. It is almost unthinkable that a Democrat will win MS, SC, etc. In the electoral college that elects the President, primary victories there will not help any Democrat. Thinking of the general election, is it not concerning that she is proving to be much more vulnerable in the swing states?
- Hillary is by all accounts doing poorly among independent and young voters. They are almost always the wild cards who sway elections. Is it not a sign of weakness that she cannot inspire the people who must join a coalition with the party faithful to have success in November?
- Finally, is it not clear that Hillary is simply not an inspiring candidate? I know—many of my Team Hillary colleagues are inspired by her. But remember the previous point. She clearly does not inspire independents. And her campaign itself has been described as avoiding events requiring her to inspire. Is her basic lack of political charisma not concerning looking forward?
OK. I just asked tough questions. I know it’s tough to face questions like this on your own candidate. I try to ask similar questions of my candidate, and if someone wants to write a parallel, challenging post about Bernie, I’ll try to answer honestly.
But, Team Hillary, can you respond to these questions?
See, I THINK Hillary will be standing between us and a Trump presidency in the fall. I am very worried about her. I’d like to be reassured by some responses to these questions that are both honest and hopeful. Frankly—I don’t see them myself.