We Sanders supporters need to recognize that his brand is damaged now

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114. Welcome to DU, TooStrong.

I hesitate to get into it too much. Full disclosure - still-staunch Hillary supporter here. I agree with the OP. Bernie didn't have a realistic chance - against a candidate who'd been laboring in the back of the vineyard as well as in the front of the vineyard, for years, building relationships, doing the scut work, rolling up her sleeves AND her pants legs and wading into the weeds to understand every aspect of an issue - the better to be able to formulate solutions and policies to address same issue.

I absolutely WOULD have voted for him if he'd won the nomination. Without question. But it probably would have been with far less enthusiasm. He just didn't resonate with me the way he did with many others of good conscience and intent, particularly when I had an alternative who was the realization of my own life-long dream - of having a woman president at long last. It was rather unpleasant, at least for me, to imagine having that annoying finger wagging at me for the next four years. Among other things.

But I'll say it again: if he'd been our nominee, I wouldn't have stayed home pouting because I didn't get my candidate. I would have shown up at the polls ANYWAY, to support the official standard-bearer we had. He definitely WOULD have had my vote.

Besides, there is no such thing as a perfect candidate - regardless the name, race, belief-system, or gender. I suspect even the most passionate trump supporters would agree with that.