re: #186 KGxvi

I wonder if one of the reasons that Sanders has become a serious contender is because the field was so small. In a normal year, I’d say Sanders would be similar to the Kucinich type candidate than a viable challenger to the front runner. But there really weren’t any viable challengers this year. And honestly, I wonder if Hillary Clinton is actually good at electoral politics. I mean, she seems pretty good on policy (a bit too hawkish for me, but otherwise she fits pretty neatly in the middle of the Democratic coalition), yet she was looking at a tough race with Guilliani in 2000 before he dropped out and then lost to Obama in 2008 despite having every possible advantage.

Not every advantage. The 2008 Primary very much turned into a referendum on the Iraq War. Even still she got more votes, Obama just ran a very shrewd campaign that maximized the absolute shit out of Southern States and caucus wins. He also competed early and heavily for super delegates.