Last January, before Iowa and New Hampshire and Super Tuesday, it seemed certain that a Democrat would be elected President in 2016.
Democrats were widely, and justifiably, despised, but that didn’t matter; there wasn’t a Republican running who wasn’t too ludicrous or too loathsome or both to be taken seriously.
It didn’t matter either that long before last January, Hillary Clinton had the Democratic nomination sewn up.
Hardly anyone was truly happy about that. But thanks to the Clintons’ connections and their control of the Democratic Party, it seemed inevitable. Party functionaries were OK with this; under Clinton, they would retain their power. Outside their circles, there was only acquiescence and no enthusiasm.