My first take — and only that — is that Elizabeth Warren, who I supported with my very small voice, and Bernie, who I would have supported had he won the nomination, misread the moods of tens of millions across the country. Or, perhaps to be more precise, their reading was only partly right.
What they missed is that people’s thinking (and again I’m talking about tens of millions) is far more complicated and contradictory than both candidates allowed for in their campaign themes, messaging, and slogans. How impactful was this misreading on primary voting? I would say a case could be made that it shut the doors of both to winning the nomination and an opportunity was lost.
This may sound a bit harsh, but both were, despite their tireless campaigning to a wide audience, guilty of small circle thinking, too closeted in their own political ecosphere.