by Nancy Hoene

Bernie’s “poor me” attitude lost him this nomination. From the beginning, Bernie has whined about everything and blamed everyone else but himself.

Was it the DNC’s fault that Bernie decided to run as a Democrat in the Democratic primaries? NO … that was his decision.

Is it New York’s fault that Bernie didn’t know they have an early deadline for switching party affiliations? NO… that is something Bernie should have thought of before he put his name in the ring. And his campaign should have been telling people since way last spring.

Is it Hillary’s fault that Bernie’s staff decided to breach the firewall and download names and addresses of Hillary’s lists? No … that was his own minions.

Is it the media’s fault that Bernie didn’t do anything newsworthy for 9 months of his campaign? He whined about not getting enough media coverage as if he was the front runner (he wasn’t – ever.) And he expected the media to cover his large rallies (well, they did once, but after that, it’s old news.) If he wanted news coverage, he needed to DO something newsworthy.

Was it the NY Daily News’s fault that Bernie wasn’t prepared for their questions? His campaign strategists or manager didn’t prepare Bernie for the editorial board interview. Maybe he’s never been to an editorial board interview … when a publication is considering endorsing you as a candidate. But they are very thorough. They were very fair to Bernie – asking him questions that were from his own platform.

Bernie is a whiner, instead of DOING whatever it takes to win (not cheating – but actual legwork), Bernie prefers to whine.

Every day his campaign said to America: “Give Bernie your pity vote. Vote for Bernie cuz you feel sorry for him. Poor, poor Bernie.”

That is what whining comes across as – asking for pity votes. And it is not a winning strategy. It turns people off. You have to be creative. You have to think of how to get into the news.

Bernie doesn’t do the footwork. He tried to sound like he did – by saying he likes to take the subway in NY. But then when asked about that, he didn’t know that they haven’t used tokens in over a decade.

You never see him at a coffee shop or pizza parlor or newsstand – just talking to people. He doesn’t do regular things to actually go out and talk to people. He prefers to speechify. To stand up on a podium and talk AT people.

Bernie has only himself to blame for all of what went on in this primary season… and he was simply not prepared in the way a candidate for President needs to be prepared.

And he lost. Fair and square. Nobody rigged anything. There was no conspiracy. It is up to the candidate and his campaign to study the rules and understand how it works. So stop whining.