Hillary Clinton has something few Presumptive Nominees ever enjoy… A popular sitting President. President Obama wants to get out on the trail. He wants to endorse. He wants to do what he can to secure his legacy. He wants the ability to go all out - open season - kung fu on Trump. So where does that leave Sanders? It leaves him with a quick decision. The President will not wait until Bernie concedes at the convention if he chooses to go nuclear. He will not wait a few weeks for the Bernie team to wind down. He may not even wait till the end of next week by all accounts.
The President WANTS to get out of the house as he is getting cabin fever. He has wanted to be on the trail since early May and was hoping to be out there no later then this week. Because of Sanders requesting a Thursday meeting that wont happen. This is not a photo-op for Clinton that is to be wasted on a Friday news dump so this week is now out of the question.
So what happens when the President hits the trail if Sanders has not conceded? A lot. The one person in the party that can out draw Sanders is The President. The one person who can give Hilary 20-50k rallies is the President. The one person in the party that can recapture the young vote is the President. The one person who can talk sense to those voters is the President. The one person who can bridge the gap between progressives and traditional democrats is the President. The one person Sanders did not want out on the trail before California was the President.
If Sanders does not cash in his chips soon the value will continue to decrease as he holds out. Make no mistake Sanders had a lot of support, but the majority are not “Bernie or Bust folks.” Most supporters are democrats who will unite with or without him telling them. Sanders holing out will not keep them from getting to work to defeat Trump. This is something Clinton knew of her group in 2008. The PUMAS is where Obama had to do the most work to gain support. This is not a problem Clinton has to deal with on her own regarding Berners. The President will be able to bring a lot of these folks on board. Young voters and first time voters will not be a huge challenge for team Clinton once the President hits the trail. Rebuilding his coalition is what he wants to get out and do. A lot of his coalition is the Bernie coalition. I would argue that the President is still the best campaigner the party has and this is not just about Clinton for him. This is personal, this is his legacy.
So if most of Bernie supporters will migrate on their own and The President can peel away most of the rest where does that leave Bernie if he holds out? Those chips suddenly don't look so valuable. Bernie has to move fast to get what he can out of the Hillary Camp. No time for long negotiations. No time (and the party has no stomach) to wait till the convention. He needs to move fast before the President makes his move. I suspect that is why he asked to meet with the President on Thursday when the President called on Tuesday night. Sanders was buying time and wanted to delay the President making his move this week to decide his best path. I think by Monday or Tuesday the President will endorse regardless, if for no other reason than to push things along. We will get the President and Hillary photo-op at a White House Presser. A good media day will come of it. By mid to late week we get the President at his first event and more good media coverage. Democrats and Clinton will get a good media week out of all of it.
Bernie needs to move fast before this starts to take shape. All this talk of not pushing Bernie along or pushing too hard is nonsense. This is not a normal end to a primary season as we have a popular sitting President who will not relinquish the party until he has to at the convention. His power in the party and on the trail is something that can’t be argued. The Presidency, Senate, House and Supreme Court are all at stake. The party will not wait. Cash in Bernie and get what you earned before it goes away.
Cool rec list! Been a few years... maybe should have proofed it for grammar :)