Boston Globe - The winners and losers in 2015 politics

https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/12/28/the-winners-and-losers-politics/zPAasiQdfpefYIWjFJLKSL/story.html

Excerpt:
By Michael A. Cohen December 28, 2015

Biggest Winner (political category): Hillary Clinton

Not long ago, the political press couldn’t stop talking about Hillary Clinton’s problems – the e-mail scandal, Benghazi, the lack of enthusiasm for her candidacy, her struggling poll numbers. No one is talking much about these issues today. In a two-week period in October she ran circles around a congressional committee investigating the death of four Americans in Benghazi; she trounced her opponents in the first Democratic debate, and Vice President Biden recognized the writing on the wall and announced he wouldn’t challenge Clinton for the nomination. Since then, she’s traveled under the radar screen, while Trump’s blovations are capturing the political world’s attention. As 2016 begins she has a huge lead for the Democratic nomination, the GOP seems poised to nominate an unelectable nominee, and the challenge from Sanders has helped her to sharpen her game for the race to come. It’s hard to imagine a candidate being in a stronger position than where Clinton sits today.


Biggest Surprise (non-Trump category): Bernie Sanders

In any other year, the story of 2015 would be how a 74-year-old self-declared socialist from Vermont has made the Democratic front-runner “feel the Bern.”

Bernie Sanders is a bit of a one-trick pony, his appeal is largely confined to white male liberals, and he is unlikely to win the Democratic nomination. But in just a few months he’s energized liberals with enormous rallies around the country, brought attention to his signature issue of income inequality, and shifted the political debate in the Democratic Party even further to the left. Even if he loses the nomination to Clinton, he and his supporters can argue they’ve already won.