2016 Postmortem

us through the day to take away the still intensely painful and brain numbing outcome.

Bigger picture perspective:

We "the people" have a lot to answer for about the frightening state of our country but we "the democrats/progressives/liberals" are once again shouldering all the responsibility and accountability for it and shredding each other apart in the process because we are the only ones who give a damn ABOUT the collective "we the people".

Accountability and responsibility are completely foreign to "them". And they don't give a damn about people and souls over power and things. Republicans and conservatives and alt right blah blah blah COUNT on us to bleed from the heart so that their cold blooded machines of greed and hate can prevail. And we never disappoint them. Our humanity is their strongest weapon against us.
It is much harder to win the more humane your goals are.

Why? That is the ultimate struggle of politics. People and souls vs. Power and heartlessness.
Caring vs NOT.

Smaller perspective:

Both Sanders and Clinton have political egos.
Right there you have part of the problem and strength in both candidates. That can't be changed, fixed or avoided. It is elemental.

Both are supremely more qualified, sane and experienced than the oafish clod jagoff who is unfit for humane consumption. Qualified, experienced and sane is consummately dull compared to crazed reality show mentality of the lunatic, graceless, rampantly immature freak show appeal to millions of citizens just trying everyday to survive "dull" without a soundtrack and network exposure.

Both used the Democratic Party to run.
One is a declared Democrat.
One isn't.
It mattered.
That divided the ranks from the get go. Nothing was strongly United and while the opposition was wildly decisive and chaotic, they still had that meaner-assed bloodless machine and circus quality fascination that totally appealed to the incompetent and shameful media they so easily and infuriatingly controlled...with ease. (Ratings mattered, Howard Beal)

Both are senior citizens. Especially compared to the ever present hipness and youthful attitude and wit of Obama.
There are very few young, highly experienced humans. Old isn't particularly desirable. Our young have been raised on flash and entitlement, glam quotient and the bling factor. Sanders had none and Clinton didn't have the correct "cool"

One is a man.
One is a woman.
The expectations connected to that difference are wildly imbalanced and still hideously wrong.
Clinton is part of the gender which is quintessentially still vilified, demeaned, disrespected, feared, attacked, patronized and victimized on such an ignoramous level that she has to be twice as...anything...to even be considered close to "equal" enough as a male doing the exact same things. Twice as condemned for it as well.
Sanders is not part of that gender.
Yes, it made a difference over and above everything else.

Both had backers with a crapload of passion. Passion can lead to serious contempt.
Sanders did not have enough support to win the primaries.
Clinton did.
Contempt entered the equation, weakening the needed unity.
Both candidates used what they did to win and they would do it again.

The opposition was driven and fiercely devoted to take EITHER of them down using the most truthless, despicable fear mongering and tapping into the basest of human flaws.

The basest is what won and THAT is what we "the people" on this side should be fighting against.