Atrios makes a good point at Eschaton.
If Bernie had dropped out a month ago (or, frankly, if he dropped out yesterday), there would be no horse race to cover, and no "both sides" (on the Democratic side) necessitating some balance between critical pieces of Clinton and critical pieces of Sanders. So any press coverage of Clinton would be one sided and critical, elevating nonsensical stuff into front page news.
My comment to the post:
Probably no reason to leave the 819th comment, but you make a point, Atrios. If Sanders left the race, the media and Republicans would continue to minutely pick apart Clinton's every statement and bash her at every opportunity. With Sanders in the race, the media will focus on the horse race and give the two candidates equal scrutiny and picking apart. Republicans leave Sanders alone now, because they see the handwriting on the wall and also because they'd prefer their candidate to run against Sanders. If Sanders should surprise us all and become the candidate, of course, the GOP will be merciless.
When I posted the link on
Facebook, one of my friends who is a Sanders supported noted that the GOP will be merciless to either candidate. The difference is that Sanders has not yet been scrutinized for 25 years, as Clinton has. Does anyone see the GOP bashing Sanders now? I don't. Why is that? I'd hope he and his family and his campaign are prepared if he is the nominee, because the attacks won't be pretty. Also, a candidate who has less to lose feels freer to make negative comments about his Democratic opponent, comments that will attract the attention of the media and keep him in the spotlight.
