Is Hillary far enough ahead to start looking at November rather than at Bernie?
For quite a time, the extended contest with Sanders seemed to be to Clinton's benefit. It kept her in the public eye, being seen to be performing well against a tough opponent. It also helped to sharpen the candidate and the team, keeping them match-fit ahead of the upcoming contest against the Republican challenge and improving performance by practicing and refining their responses to the tough questions.
Now, however, the contest has dragged on too long for her and the team is anxious to finish it and move on to concentrate on the 'real' contest. Sanders has been scoring too well against her recently, undermining her position and exposing opportunities for the Republicans to aim at.
The delegates she has already banked should be enough for her to secure the nomination in the next week. This article describes how her support has been deteriorating and she is now only two points ahead of Sanders nationally. From a high starting position, she is now a weak candidate with near record low support figures, but is extremely lucky (and the GOP is extremely unlucky) that she is likely to be up against Trump, who has the worst support figures of any general election candidate ever, or Cruz, possibly the only other candidate she would beat.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/hillary-clinton-won-new-york-but-her-image-is-under-water-20160420-goaxvw.html With the nomination almost secured, though, as the campaigns head through Pennsylvania, she has been turning her attention to Trump, attacking his remarks on Muslims, immigrants and women. Of course, looking past Sanders helps to get the impression out there that her nomination is a done deal.
Will she go more for the centre or is she a safe win in Nov by just watching the GOP explode?
As you know, the Democratic Party members are considerably more liberal and the Republican Party members considerably more conservative than the general population so, to get through both stages, candidates tend to drift towards either extreme during the nomination process and back towards the centre for the General Election. The problem is you end up causing yourself difficulties by committing to positions that you don't believe in and that come back to haunt you for ever as you struggle to explain your irreconcilable positions.
Hillary has been dragged way outside her natural position during this process to counteract Sanders. She has to move back to the centre, which is where she will feel more comfortable anyway.
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Hillary catching up with an old friend at Nancy Reagan's funeral.
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