Rieder: Brutal night for media narrative

It was a brutal night for the media narrative, the polls, the pundits, the conventional wisdom.

The Democratic presidential contest was pretty much over, the story went. Bernie Sanders had peaked, the Hillary Clinton juggernaut was in full command, Clinton would beat Sanders by 20 points in Michigan. Game over. Time for the party to unite and for Clinton to pivot toward the general election and the looming threat posed by Donald Trump.

Except, wait. The Republican establishment at long last had come together to take the party back. Mitt Romney — Mitt Romney!! — had ridden to the rescue. Trump was slowing down, his national lead was shrinking.

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Turns out Clinton's double-digit lead in Michigan was gossamer. Sanders won the state, albeit narrowly, cutting into Clinton's overwhelming lead with black voters while maintaining his dominance among young voters and prevailing among independents.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/rieder/2016/03/09/rieder-brutal-night-media-narrative/81518604/