“According to the Monmouth Polling Institute, when asked to name who they would like to see as the next Democrat nominee for president, nearly half (48%) of Democrats and Democratic le aning voters volunteer Hillary Clinton. No other candidate registers in double digits. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is named by 6%, independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is named by 2%, and Vice President Joe Biden is named by 2%,” PoliticusUSA reports Dec. 16.

CLINTON

No doubt, Hillary Clinton is very happy with Monmouth results.

People say if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

The almost 50-point Clinton lead in the poll shows it isn’t broken.

So, there’s no way Clinton is going to fix it.

The Democratic Party (“DP”) has reactionary ( at est. 30%), liberal (65%), and centrist sectors (5%). The reactionaries in the DP are Clinton’s most loyal supporters.

At the moment, Clinton doesn’t publicly identify with any of three sectors. This ideological non-identification is the “it” referred to above.

She doesn’t say anything nice about reactionaries because it will irritate liberals. And vice versa. She doesn’t say anything nice about centrists, because it may confuse both reactionaries and liberals.

Clinton now is more cunning than she was in 2008 when Obama outflanked her on the left during race for the nomination.

SANDERS

Bernie Sanders repeatedly says very nice things about liberals who with an est. 65% constitute the mass of the DP.

Clinton’s strategy of non-identity so far has kept the liberals from flocking to Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

Warren says she’s not going to run. But she will instantly change her mind if Sanders shrinks Clinton’s big lead.

Remember 1968, RFK said he wasn’t going to run. But as soon as McCarthy shrunk LBJ’s big lead, RFK jumped into the race.

If Sanders can’t shrink Clinton’s big lead, Warrern most likely will stay out of the race.

To shrink Clinton’s big lead, Sanders has to distinguish himself from Clinton’s Wall Street, neo-liberal, and laissez faire economics.

Sanders also has to clearly distinguish himself from Pres. Obama who has developed a habit of capitulation to reactionaries in the DP and GOP on budgetary and other fiscal matters