Bernie Sanders argues he should get the Democratic nod because he polls better against Trump than Hillary. True, as far as it goes, but that’s not the whole story. Here’s why he does:
“As The Huffington Post reported in mid-April, of the roughly $383 million spent on campaign television advertising in 2016, only about 2 percent was on anti-Sanders ads, much of which just briefly mentioned his name or featured his image. ‘People are pointing to his general election numbers as being stronger than Clinton’s, and that’s largely a byproduct of the fact he hasn’t seen incoming fire,’ said Brendan Nyhan, a political science professor at Dartmouth College and a columnist for The New York Times.”
(Emphasis added; read story here.) Don’t get me wrong; I love Bernie. His scruffy image and plainspoken outrage against “the system” evokes fond memories of my youth, when the people of my generation passionately believed we could remake the world. Don’t worry, I haven’t become totally cynical over the years; I still want to believe good can defeat evil, and it’s possible for us to all get along, even though the evidence is pretty weak.
But the question you have to ask yourself — if you’re a Democrat or just someone scared shitless by the idea of President Donald J. Trump — is what will happen to Bernie’s electability when (not if) he comes under the withering fire Trump masterfully leveled at his Republican rivals? Where are they now, eh? Are Bernie’s favorable polls the real thing, or a ghost shirt?
I received my ballot in today’s mail. I love you to death, Bernie, but I voted for Hillary.