Bernie Sanders Is Running Against Hillary Clinton And Losing Against Time

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Ah--time....



Bernie Sanders Is Running Against Hillary Clinton And Losing Against Time

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-debate_us_571056a1e4b0060ccda2db75

04/14/2016 11:30 pm ET

Sam Stein
Senior Politics Editor, The Huffington Post


BROOKLYN, N.Y. — When Bernie Sanders’ announced his presidential campaign in a patchwork press conference outside the U.S. Capital on a sunny day a year ago, even the most starry-eyed supporter could not have conjured up the image of Thursday night’s Democratic debate.

That voters in New York would play a consequential role in the primary one year later was unimaginable. That Sanders would still be in the running was wishful thinking with a dab of delusion.

And yet, there was the Vermont senator, sharing a stage with Hillary Clinton for what will likely be the last time — a relatively hastily assembled forum at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where a vast expanse of old warehouses have been retrofitted into offices for a whiskey distillery, a glass block factory, a film and television production studio and a company that, among other things, makes sleek steel staircases for the homes of the rich. It’s a microcosm of the post-industrial economy that has colored much of this campaign.

The night had all the elements of a movie: The native son, back home, making one last impassioned plea to fellow New Yorkers to propel him past the better known former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. Had Aaron Sorkin penned the script, Clinton would have walked off the stage after Sanders’ opening remarks, the futility of responding coming into full view with his soaring prose.

But campaigns are messy. They aren’t broken into clean theatrical acts. And even the most heart-tugging debate moments are complicated by things like delegate counts, primary rules, election calendars and, yes, the fact that the “villain” in this particularly drama happens to be admired and supported by many others.

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He also stumbled a bit at times, failing to point to a specific decision Clinton made that was influenced by her donors (when one exists); and getting caught snickering at Clinton’s attacks on him when the tone of the debate grew somber as the topic switched to gun violence.

“This is not a laughing matter. Ninety people on average a day are killed or commit suicide,” Clinton quickly shot back.

But the scorecard for the night — the jeering from the crowd, and the acid-tongued digs between the candidates — didn’t carry as much import as the surrounding context. Come Tuesday’s vote in New York — where the polls currently favor Clinton — the math will remain Sanders’ enemy and the nomination will remain elusive..................



............Sanders aides took to the spin room to argue that the night had been a thorough, unambiguous win.

But there was no evident knockout blow. And for a candidate who needed a jolting evening, that probably won’t do.