First things first, no one has to give up their Senate seat to run the Democratic National Committee. Remember that Debbie Wasserman Schultz was a member of Congress during her tenure.

That aside ...

In 2004, in the wake of John Kerry’s devastating loss to George W. Bush, we had a similarly divided party, one that had been riven by primary dissent, with recriminations against the eventual nominee. Many people argued that Howard Dean could’ve beaten Bush. I wasn’t one of those people, even though I’d been a die-hard Dean person. I don’t think Bernie Sanders would’ve fared better last night for reasons I may or may not talk about in the next few days (I doubt it’d be a productive conversation).

But just like in late 2004, I am now focused on the future of our party, and that means, first and foremost, bringing the base together with someone at the helm who is ready for the fight.

I didn’t rally behind Bernie Sanders in the primaries because of his inability to communicate effectively with communities of color. But there was an exception, and that was young people of color. And even on the broader issues of race, Sanders has come a long way in the past year. How could he not, having run through the grinder of a long presidential campaign?

So he has energy, conviction, and an ability to attract millennials of all stripes in a way that honestly still baffles me. But I don’t need to get it to acknowledge its value moving forward.