CNN/ORC poll: Hillary Clinton wins debate, but Bernie Sanders rises (actual headline)

[Babel_17]

12. People aren't being told the subtext of the results of the debate

Cliffs Notes: Sanders went from being mostly unknown, or seen as too radical or eccentric, to being mostly seen as being likable, and a highly credible choice for the nomination. That's a huge get.

I'm happy with that as the gains Sanders makes as his campaign message spreads can't be honestly said to be like a sand castle. There now is no tide to come in and wash away these gains. Sure, he can lose, the same way Clinton lost in 2008, or the way any popular Democratic has lost in the past.

This was critically important groundwork that had to be laid, regardless of the cost. Senator Sanders showed great composure in not being distracted from that.

He may (or may not) have lost The Academy Award for best performance to Secretary Clinton as a result of the debate. But he's the one who now could say, (not that he will) about the Democratic party as a whole (and even the nation), what he couldn't credibly say before.

"I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!"*

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_in_the_Heart#Accolades