with him when he does, I would imagine. Or at least trying to. I think it fair to expect Bernie to make that effort, but it is easier said then done, and how he manages his eventual exit, who he talks to first and how his suspension is ultimately framed, plays into that.

Only Bernie can bring his supporters down from the place they are at now, and get them to fully support Biden. Some Bernie supporters will naturally support Biden without Bernie asking them to, but there are others that he needs to talk to and commensurate with before they can move on.

Sanders needs to get behind Biden absolutely and completely RIGHT now. Lives depend on it. Without something in return for doing what is right.

But the cessation must be absolute and irrevocable, and the man cannot have any further role. He simply cannot be trusted not to play false.

none of us should be dictating what if any role a man with the support of tens of millions of anti-Trunp Americans can or should play moving forward, with the possible exception of Joe Biden.

Sanders is one such. The pathetic 'support' he offered in 2016, after doing his utmost to disrupt the convention, is not something worth having, and he cannot be trusted to do any better a second time around. Past performance, as they say, is the best predictor of future behavior.

"You will not rise to the occasion. You will default to your level of training."

but I find your expression of these sentiments to not be very helpful. But it is your view and it is one not unique to you. You may find my sentiments to not be very helpful either. Yet we remain committed together to the same end, electing Joe Biden President in November, and that far outweighs any differences we might have regarding Bernie Sanders. And so, respectfully, I agree to disagree where we disagree, and to fight together for what unites us.

And I agree we are both of us committed to the same goal: just desserts for the traitor occupying our White House, and a Democratic Congress to provide legislation our country desperately needs. I agree too that of the available choices Mr. Biden is the best vehicle for this, and I have confidence he will be able to.

But I will not submit to the blackmail and extortion Sanders trades in. You can't let a man have two chances at things like that. At the second attempt, he must pay for both.

"You only get two mistakes, and usually your second is somebody remembers your first."

So I will simply wish you well, and our nation the chance for a better tomorrow under President Joe Biden.

A pleasure to cross words with you.

Our disagreement has been about the best way to get to a near-ideal state (perfection is never, ever achieved and only those bond to fail ever even try to achieve it).

majority of cases. You and I are seeing this the same

There are no functioning campaign events. We are in the crisis of our lives. Sanders has the opportunity to gracefully exit, and devote his talents to crafting a response to the pandemic. He will not be asked in the months leading up to the convention to do much, because there won't be the same sort of things to do.

Circumstances hand us strange opportunities. This is his. Will he take it? I guess we'll find out. By the time the convention comes, in whatever form it takes, the primaries will be in our rear view mirror.

We need to come together like never before, and he should bend his considerable platform to its fullest to help us through this.

Singularity of focus can distort perception, so that people notice only what they want to be so. I am not sanguine about Sanders' character. Much that he is praised for, unbending consistency over the years in particular, strikes me more as serious flaw than sterling attribute. I do not expect him to rise to the occasion. I will not complain if this expectation does not prove out, certainly.

"You will not rise to the occasion. You will default to your level of training."

Link to tweet

Win or lose he is still a person.

He matters.

He got a consistent 20% to 30%. His opinions matter just as much as Pete, Amy, Elizabeth, Andrew, and Tom. I loved Pete Buttigieg. I hope you wouldn't say his wants don't matter. Losing a primary doesn't mean you have lost anything other than a primary. The losing campaigns still have a valuable autonomous voice in the Democratic Party and our progressive future. That goes for everyone.

He is assessing. He deserves that right just as much as Warren or anyone else did. He poured his heart into this. He is in the midst of doing the most painful thing any candidate can do. Let him have the time to do it.

Remember, he isn't his supporters on twitter, and his supporters on twitter, while awful, are not representative of the whole.

the point of putting his ego over people's lives. You think that matters? I do not.

And if I am not mistaken all, or almost all of them, did not withdraw the literal day after a disappointing primary showing (Tom might have). And none of them had to be in DC the next day to work on crisis legislation.

Biden 100%.

thinking more about the good of the nation than the good of his messaging

The public's attention is on the same issue that all Senators are addressing. It will make no lasting negative difference whatsoever if Sanders takes a few days to touch bases with his core allies and supporters before announcing the results of his campaign reassessment. But going about it in a manner respectful to those who have devoted years to his cause could help smooth the transition to almost all of them solidly backing Biden. There is some possible upside and essentially no downside to Sanders taking a few days to work this through with his supporters.

Just not “ until all the primaries are done” or “until the convention.” Forgive us if we worry about that, but it’s happened before.

He is busy dealing with a Fucking global Crisis!!