Did Bernie tell Elizabeth that a woman cannot win the presidency? The meeting was behind closed doors with only the two of them. 

If Bernie did say anything that included the words women and winning and presidency I suspect it was along the lines of what I have heard from many, and hear it from myself as well, ‘can a woman win?’ As I repeat ad nauseam, to myself and others, Hillary earned 3 million more votes than Trump but she still lost the WH because among other things of how the electoral college works. Asking: can a woman win? or can a gay win? or can an African American win? and sooner or later surely can an atheist win? is not the same as believing a woman, a gay, an African-American or an atheist should not by president of the United States. 

Perhaps Bernie was just asking a realistic question or maybe he was making a case for his turn, after the defeat of Hillary in 2016. 

Normal conversations between human beings often include nuance, musings, hypotheticals, & counter-arguments. When brought to the light of day, outside the context of the conversation, by one of the participants, the other can seem insensitive or worse. 

Nothing in Bernie’s background suggests he does not believe a woman could and should be President of the United States. 

Putting this whole thing in the best light possible, for both, Elizabeth heard Bernie express some doubt about a woman beating Trump in 2000 and Bernie heard nothing from his words suggesting a woman ought not be president. What I see and what I hear are often different from what you see and hear, even when we are looking and listening to the same things. 

I think it is a fair question to ask why Elizabeth and her campaign brought this conversation up now and in the way they did, with no context and no nuance. The Iowa vote is looming and the Warren campaign is struggling and the stakes are high. Watching “The Two Popes” last night reminded me of what Catholics refer to as lesser or venial sins. This incident includes nothing but lesser political sins by all involved.

Our fast paced media environment and short attention spans are rightly lambasted but sometimes useful.