A Last Hurrah for Bernie Sanders

It’s time for the symbol of liberalism to admit defeat.

The ability to be dignified in defeat is a rare gift. Eight years ago, it took Hillary Clinton several weeks to say she was throwing in the towel in the wake of her hard-fought campaign and admit she didn’t have a chance against Barack Obama. It was the end of a dream just as it is now for Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator and self-proclaimed outsider.

After losing the primary election in California, his last best hope, he took on the role of political missionary leading a movement — the Bernie Sanders Revolution. He promised his enthusiastic fans he would stay in the race until the bitter end at the Democratic convention to be held in Philadelphia seven weeks from now. There, he would fight his Battle of Philippi.* But the idea that he could pry her superdelegates, much less her lead in the polls, from her would be naive and illusory.

So the liberal-leftist symbol and former hippie will celebrate his last hurrah at the last primary in Washington, D.C. with a rally on the National Mall and a get-together in the White House. He earned that much with his unwavering face-off with the favorite, Hillary Clinton, and for putting social justice once again on the national agenda.

For the sake of the Democratic Party, however, Barack Obama is already itching to get into the fight supporting Hillary’s bid for the White House against Donald Trump. That’s a battle in which Bernie Sanders could only be a distraction.

*Editor’s note: The Battle of Philippi was a Roman battle fought in 42 BCE that brought the demise of Julius Caesar’s conspirators and ultimately ended the 500-year old Republic.