Non-support for Sanders is, to me, a barometer of how sick and lost we have become

[shaayecanaan]

82. Likewise

This was the first story that hit my RSS feed this morning:-

http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-election/hillary-clinton-polling-wobbles-ahead-of-presidential-campaign-launch-20150602-ghfdmx.html

Nothing we didn't know already. Hillary is intensely hated by those on the other side (not a huge problem if they wouldn't vote for her anyway) and also widely disliked by not a few people on her own side (a potentially much bigger problem).

Fwiw, I've never seen a front runner more despised by the base of their own party. I realise that some centrist politicians have been successful, Barack Obama, tony Blair and bill Clinton come to mind- but apart from Blair in his later years I don't think that any of them have managed to isolate their left wing base as comprehensively as Hillary has. And the fact is that Blair took the reins in the wake of thirteen years of conservative rule in the same way that Obama and Clinton succeeded bush Jnr and Snr respectively. Hillary won't be able to rely on that.

I think she will struggle against Rubio in particular. He is younger, a bit more dynamic, and could make serious inroads against a candidate as bland and anodyne as Clinton.

I'm not a centrist, and I'll leave the selection of centrist candidates to your good selves, but I seriously think that you need a plan b. Of course I imagine someone will throw their hat into the ring at some stage.