2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: A candidate that gets "damaged" by a primary run has no business anywhere near the GE. [View all]Tatiana
(14,167 posts)Just like Hillary severely hampered Obama's chances in 2008.
/sarcasm.
A strong candidate is a strong candidate. Let's start fielding people who have strong values, strong ethics, an impeccable record of public service, demonstrated leadership, good decision making, and (I hate to say) LIKABILITY.
If you're a candidate who has baggage (prime example: BILL Clinton in '96), you have to have a way of overcoming that baggage. Hillary never sold herself. She had a whole bunch of Republicans and celebrities and party stalwarts vouching for her, but she honestly never closed the deal herself. That's her own fault -- not Bernie Sanders'.
Lest we forget our history, Jerry Brown actually went to the 1992 Democratic Convention and seconded HIS OWN NOMINATION.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/05/28/the-greatest-moments-of-the-jerry-brown-clintons-feud-remembered/?utm_term=.a0b96854777c
Primaries hone the skills of the eventual nominee. Brown brought out the fight in Clinton. Clinton brought out the fight in Obama. The nominee learns how to answer the tough questions with tough comebacks and responses. Only Hillary never quite found strong, definitive comebacks to her "supposed" baggage. She carried an unfair burden, but she needed to find a better way to address the media being in the tank for Trump and put the private server issue to rest.