In Late 2007, Obama Trailed Clinton By 26 Points. Bernie Sanders Is 2016's Barack Obama

(Photo: BernieSanders.com)

In Late 2007, Obama Trailed Clinton By 26 Points. Bernie Sanders Is 2016's Barack Obama

Before the Iowa Caucus in December of 2007, Pew Research reported that Barack Obama was 26 points behind Hillary Clinton. In the "Democratic Horse Race," Hillary Clinton enjoyed 48% support while Obama was stuck at 22%. According to Gallup in late 2007, Hillary Clinton held a commanding lead over Senator Obama:

Gallup's 2007 national presidential polling strongly points to Clinton winning the 2008 Democratic nomination. Barring something unusual or otherwise unexpected, she is well positioned for the 2008 Democratic primaries.

Clinton has led the Democratic pack in every Gallup Poll conducted between November 2006 and October 2007. For most of this time, Clinton has led Obama by a double-digit margin.

Clinton's lead over Obama has expanded to nearly 30 points in Gallup's latest poll, conducted Oct. 12-14: 50% vs. 21%.

Of course, we all know that because of a lead that expanded to nearly 30 points, there was little chance for Obama to win at that point. If anything, the words "Clinton has led the Democratic pack in every Gallup Poll conducted between November 2006 and October 2007" should have meant that only one candidate was electable, or capable of winning the primaries.

Sound familiar?

President Obama won, despite the polls, and Hillary Clinton lost, primarily because one candidate was able to generate immense energy and enthusiasm.

However, it's difficult to generate enthusiasm when you're a Democratic nominee who voted for Iraq and is funded by prison lobbyists, but alas, Clinton supporters base their vote upon the perception of political power. This viewpoint ignores the fact that Democrats lose elections when voter turnout is low, and only Bernie Sanders can ensure a high voter turnout in 2016. Between an expanding FBI investigation, Clinton's negative favorability ratings, and her longstanding ties to Donald Trump, Republicans would win the White House with a Clinton nomination.

Thus far, 14% of Democrats according to CBS News will not support Hillary Clinton. Furthermore, I explain in The Huffington Post and Salon that I'm one of these Democrats. Yes, I will risk four years of a Republican to ensure the Democratic Party doesn't shift dangerously to the right on foreign policy; electing a Democrat with neoconservative support and advisers, funded by prison lobbyists, and who once falsely claimed "I remember landing under sniper fire."

Furthermore, many voters (astonished by a liberal who won't vote for Clinton) fail to realize the difference between a president and a member of Congress. Unlike a Senator or member of Congress, the president has the AUMF and can wage war unilaterally, and I don't trust Clinton with this kind of power.

If you hate guns, you should also hate Hillary Clinton's "neocon" foreign policy. In terms of deadly weapons, the NRA is nothing compared to the number of guns Hillary Clinton's foreign policy would utilize, and based on her record, there's a likelihood of more American ground troops sent to Syria, Iraq, and other quagmires.

If you don't believe me, just read Clinton's book review in The Washington Post of Henry Kissinger's World Order.

Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, already defeats Trump and Bush in landslide victories according to recent general election polls. Unlike Clinton, who's now the subject of impeachment by a GOP Congressman (one year before the election), Bernie Sanders is respected on both sides of the aisle and won the Congressional Award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Sanders appeals to Democrats, Independents, and even some Republicans.

In my latest appearances on The Benjamin Dixon Show, the discussion centered on why Bernie Sanders is the best chance Democrats have of defeating Donald Trump. We also discussed Clinton's use of race against Barack Obama in 2008, as well as why Bernie Sanders is able to motivate voters, whereas Hillary Clinton's record on the biggest issues is a liability.

Benjamin Dixon also has a message for the Sanders campaign. At 28:10 on the YouTube segment, he states "I'm behind Bernie Sanders 100%" primarily because "Hillary Clinton is a damn good Republican" and this is a moment when Americans should volunteer to ensure Bernie Sanders wins in 2016.

The host of The Benjamin Dixon Show is so passionate about Bernie Sanders, he's willing to campaign for him in South Carolina (joining Cornel West and other African American supporters) and speak to black voters in churches and other locations, simply to ensure that Vermont's Senator wins the presidency.

This the type of enthusiasm is the hallmark of Bernie's campaign, like Obama's in 2008. In terms of enthusiasm, I explain in this YouTube segment why Clinton is unelectable due to negative favorability ratings.

I also explain why voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and across the nation will vote for Sanders over Clinton or Trump in this YouTube segment.

Although some observers are convinced that poll numbers have ensured a Clinton victory, there's a reason Hillary Clinton finished third in Iowa, behind Obama and John Edwards, in 2008.

When Yahoo News writes an article titled More Americans distrust Hillary Clinton than trust her, it's difficult to generate energy and enthusiasm amidst such negative favorability ratings. These issues plagued Clinton in 2008, and the coming year will see an ever-expanding FBI investigation linked to her emails, as well as a potential mutiny from progressives.

There are already 25,000 people who've decided to write in Sanders if he's not the Democratic nominee. This number will almost certainly grow in the coming months, as many voters will refrain from choosing the lesser of two evils in 2016.

In contrast, Bernie Sanders reached 1 million donations faster than any presidential campaign in history, and according to Zaid Jilani, "Barack Obama did not reach this threshold until February of 2008." In fact, Bernie Sanders is raising more money than any Republican candidate. As for campaign funding, Clinton answered a question about her Wall Street donors by evoking 9/11; an answer that correlates to polls indicating swing states don't trust Clinton.

Back in August, over 100,000 people had attended events with Bernie Sanders; the total has no doubt increased by a substantial amount. Also, something interesting happened during the first debate. Bernie Sanders won the battle for hearts and minds of Democrats the moment Anderson Cooper asked Hillary Clinton, "Will you say anything to get elected?"

During the first debate, CNN's most recognizable host introduced his question with a paraphrase of everything I've been trying to illustrate in my writing:

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN:

Secretary Clinton, I want to start with you. Plenty of politicians evolve on issues, but even some Democrats believe you change your positions based on political expediency.

You were against same-sex marriage. Now you're for it. You defended President Obama's immigration policies. Now you say they're too harsh. You supported his trade deal dozen of times. You even called it the "gold standard." Now, suddenly, last week, you're against it.

Will you say anything to get elected?

Most politicians would be ashamed of such a question, and most supporters would be incensed, but not the Clinton campaign. In addition, professional pundits overlooked the question and gave Clinton the win, while a Time magazine poll of 284,688 votes shows that 60% of viewers (compared to a notable 26% for Jim Webb and only 12% for Clinton) felt Bernie Sanders won the debate.

Speaking of Time Magazine, Bernie Sanders leads Time's Person of the Year Poll, beating Pope Francis and Barack Obama. In contrast, Time writes that Hillary Clinton "has earned 1.3 % of the vote, trailing the likes of Vladimir Putin..."

Also, Democrats can't win going into Election Day with an ever-expanding FBI investigation. A POLITICO article on November 10, 2015 titled FBI steps up interviews in Clinton email probe explains the magnitude of the ongoing investigation.

Finally, as Lelita Cannon writes in The Root, "Before Killer stepped away from the podium, he made sure to clarify that Bernie 'spent the last 50 years radically fighting for your rights and mine.'" When African American and Latino voters choose Sanders over Clinton, America is looking at a landslide victory within the Democratic Primary for Bernie Sanders. The more people learn about Clinton, like the fact her campaign was funded by prison lobbyists and used race as tool against Obama in 2008, the greater the likelihood of Sanders running away with the Democratic nomination. Bernie Sanders, not Clinton, is 2016's Barack Obama, and ever-changing poll numbers won't stop Sanders from winning the Democratic nomination.

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