Getting on the same page, that's the challenge for the democrats now that Hillary Clinton is their presidential nominee, but Bernie Sanders isn't dropping out. This afternoon President Obama made his support for Clinton official, offering up a recorded endorsement on her campaign website.
Earlier in the day, Obama met with the Vermont senator, and darling of the progressive wing of the party, to talk about where the party goes from here. Sanders said he plans on staying in the race at least through next week's primary in Washington D.C. Despite the fact he isn't conceding defeat, Sanders did make it clear he will do whatever he can to make sure Donald Trump isn't elected President.
Former state treasurer and candidate for governor Shannon O'Brien ( @shannonpobrien ), and Scot Lehigh ( @GlobeScotLehigh ) of the Boston Globe discuss what the democrats need to do.
As a Clinton supporter in 2008, O’Brien understands the loss that the Sanders supporters are feeling. She recognizes that these supporters are angry. She says that as of now, only time can heal the emotional loss. The Sanders supporters need time to absorb the loss and at some point before November fall in line with the democratic party. Regarding the Sanders supporters, O’Brien says, “ They’re not in love with her now. They may never be in love with her. But they are now going to have to look at what the alternative is.” Having President Obama and Senator Warren endorse Clinton, should help bring those supporters over.
There are fundamental difference between the ideas proposed by Clinton and Sanders. Lehigh says that “Bernie has proposed a humongous amount of spending. He’s proposed $33 trillion in new spending over a decade. She [Clinton] has proposed about $1 trillion of spending over a decade.” Clinton will rhetorically talk about the issues that Sanders has drawn attention to. In reference to fiscal spending, Clinton has an idea of how she could actually pay for the ideas that she has.
Role of the Vice President
Another big question: What role will Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren play? Will she fire up the left wing of the party for Hillary? Will she be the democrat's top pit bull, trying to tweet her way under Trump's skin? Could she even be Clinton's running mate? Last night, it was reported Warren will officially endorse Clinton.
Shannon O’Brien thinks that Elizabeth Warren has her own power within the senate. Warren would be a great choice for vice president, but she is not the best choice. Warren’s importance right now solidifies her as a leader within the democratic party. O’Brien adds, “she [Warren] is the only democratic woman in the Senate who has yet to endorse Hillary Clinton. So she has to keep a lot of those people happy as well, so this helps her balance that, I think.”
Scot Lehigh believes that the role of the vice president is to attack, attack, and attack. He says that Clinton and Warren are far apart on many things. Warren is great at public critiques, but spontaneous critiques are not her strongest ability.
The Un-favorability of the Candidates
Scot Lehigh considers the un-favorability of Hillary Clinton to not be deeply rooted, like Donald Trump. Clinton’s un-favorability is topical dislike. “We’ve seen her very much admired at different points, and then when she goes under attack we see her numbers come down when there’s controversy.” He finds that people will put their dislike for Clinton behind them.
O’Brien echoed a similar position. “Hillary has been extremely popular when she goes to work. Once she goes to work, I think she’s going to gain popularity, and I think it will change.”
