It may not make headline news, because anything that’s positive for Bernie Sanders usually isn’t, but Sanders is now leading Clinton not only in New Hampshire (where he now polls over 50%), but also in Iowa, by a very solid 43%-33%.
This is important, of course, because Iowa goes first in the candidate selection process. At the beginning of the race in2008, I was one of those who said “We’d better go for Hillary, because America is just not going to elect a black guy as president.” But, he did really well in the Iowa precinct caucuses, and I (and no doubt a lot of other people) started saying “Hey, maybe American WILL elect a black guy.” After all, you don’t get much whiter than Iowa.
I see this year as very much a repeat of 2008. (Sanders isn’t black, but he is Jewish, and a socialist – same kind of thing.) Hillary Clinton, once again, is running on a platform of “Hey, I’m the front runner, I’m the one everybody’s heard of. I want to be President real bad, vote for me.” Once again, it is not working, and she has no plan B.
David Axelrod, who was Obama’s campaign manager, said something along the lines of “Hillary can still win if she comes up with a clearer message.” Which is the same as saying she can’t win.
Because the message people want to hear is the message Bernie Sanders is already delivering. She can cite her experience, but her experience is not greater than his, and she’s had a lot more wrong votes.
Unless she has something really special up her sleeve (and I suspect she doesn’t), Hillary Clinton is toast.