Bernie gets booed by hundreds of protesters for several minutes

[Virginiá]

This is what happens when you push the curruption narrative. This is why I have said all along that this year is very different from 2008. Policy differences and various nasty personal attacks can be overcome, but the curruption narrative cannot. Once you have brainwashed your followers into thinking that the system is rigged and that everybody is out to get you, you can't really go back on it. As much as I appreciate Sanders doing the right thing right now, he really brought this on himself, by feeding the curruption narrative for months on end.

I think the problem is that the system is rigged in some fundamental ways, if nobody is "out to get you" or conspiracy theories are bullsh**t - even Hillary will admit as much.  And that fundamental reality has to be addressed.  

Could Sanders have addressed this reality in a more artful way?  Yes, he probably could have.  But it's also true that, while the Hillary campaign itself has done an OK job of making overtures in the last month or two, the Democratic party, most obviously the DNC with the recent email revelations, has to a large extent brought this kind of stuff on itself.

I would argue that as long as Bernie ran a campaign on something being "rigged", Clinton was going to get caught up in it due her natural shadiness. That being said, when Bernie turned his focus on Clinton and speeches and other misc campaign finance stuff, it really poured massive gasoline on the fire. That much cannot be denied. It's my opinion (and maybe just that), that Sanders damaged Hillary quite a bit in the primary due to that angle. He probably could have even damaged her beyond repair had he started on that stuff from the start.

However, this wouldn't even be a problem if Clinton didn't have so many liabilities. It's her own fault for running when she knew she had all this baggage. In the end, even if she wins I'm starting to believe more and more that it will a pyrrhic victory in terms of long-term Democratic success, especially if her administration is dogged by any kind of scandals and/or a recession. People aren't just going to magically start liking/trusting her after November 8th - She will have to bend over backwards to earn that, and any little scandal or recession, no matter how small, will have an out-sized impact on her image due to her past issues and damaged credibility.

[Virginiá]

Virginia, I have nothing to add, I agree with both of the points you made, though very surprisingly, I'm just a tad less fatalistic than you in this case.  There's a narrow way out reputationally speaking for Madame Secretary IMO and it's good governance coupled with spectacular Republican incompetence.

I do believe she has a shot at being looked at as a decent president, or at least not terrible, but she really has to deliver on substance. She has little charisma or natural charm like Obama and is already defined as a 'shady' character. If Republicans commit to obstructing Congress for her entire tenure as president, I do not think she will fare as well as Obama did. She really has to deliver on some of her campaign promises, and that will require Congressional action for many.

Republicans will probably continue to harm their brand by continued obstruction, but because of Trump, they will no doubt see this election as a fluke that was ruined by a selfish agitator and that all they need is a "true conservative" to run. This will give them the excuse they need to obstruct and demonize Hillary, so as to hopefully make sweeping gains in 2018 and also win the White House in 2020. This is the current GOP strategy - demonize and obstruct. They keep getting midterm blowouts and it only emboldens them to do whatever they have to for those sweet, sweet short term gains, regardless of bad they end up looking. I think the only way to change this is for them, in 2018, to have a 1998-style midterm instead of a 2014. It's like giving a dog a treat for crapping on the floor - Sure, it's bad, but the dog keeps getting rewarded for it and so it does it again hoping for the same results.

(sorry for rant lol)