Let me preface my remarks by saying I have been a Hillary Clinton supporter since the start of the campaign, so please take that into account in reading the comments below (nb — while I support Clinton, I am not blindly loyal; I switched from Clinton to Obama in 2008 when I thought Obama had a better shot at winning)
Senator Sanders has been clear of late that he won’t win a majority of delegates, and that his strategy is now to encourage Superdelegates to rally around him as the most electable nominee. His comments this evening have ended his chance at pulling this strategy off.
First, let’s be clear: while a share of Sanders’ more vocal online fans seem to feel that no “real” Democrat would vote for her (it’s always ignorance, or opportunism or — in the case of Superdelegates — fear) Hillary Clinton is very popular in New York State, and a comment like this will reinforce and probably expand her lead in New York State. Thus, Sanders’ ability to close the pledged Delegate gap in order to MAKE a pitch to super delegates will be that much harder.
And, assuming he does get a shot at the Superdelegates? These are Party leaders; many of them elected officials. They’re concerned with the Party’s future, as well as their own. Saying that a former First Lady, former twice-elected US Senator and former Secretary of State for a popular Democratic President is “unqualified”, 11 months after the campaign started, suggests either a lack of basic Party loyalty, or a rash impulsiveness which raises questions about how he’ll conduct a General Election campaign. And, as with NYS voters, many of the Superdelegates like Hillary Clinton; throwing out a line like this, which can’t be easily drawn back from, will lose Sanders a lot of potential good will.
I’d say his campaign is over.