Two Things Bernie Must Do Today

It's all the marbles day, Friends,

With the country's biggest primary and six other contests to go, what happens today will determine the course of the presidential election and the Democratic landscape over next two months.

The news media is already calling Hillary Clinton the presumptive nominee. It's annoying.

Do I really need to tell you why my picture's here today?
Alright then, here's a message from the other side. It ain't over 'til it's
OVER!

They've been wrong a good 80 percent of the time in this presidential race, and there's nothing to indicate they've gotten any better.

Unfortunately, their rush to judgment has the negative impact of keeping people away from the polls in the seven remaining contests. Why waste time waiting on line when it's hopeless?

I have news for the media: you're not the story. You're supposed to be reporting the story, not directing the story.

That said, Bernie Sanders is not out of the race yet. Though he's down for the count and close to having his lights put out, there are two things that he can and must do today to stay viable.

First, Bernie must win big in California. Despite the discouraging news about Hillary's anointment coming from all major media outlets (but interestingly not from Hillary herself), her presumptive nomination assumes she'll have at least a respectable showing there.

A decisive win for Bernie in  the country's largest and most diverse state will give him half the ammunition he needs to contest Hillary at the Philadelphia convention.

The other thing Bernie must do is find a way to make up the three million popular vote gap between him and Mrs. Clinton.

As of this morning, Bernie trails by that many popular votes and also by nearly 300 pledged delegates.

Both these deficits can be made up entirely today, but the likelihood is extremely low.

As I see it, however, it's Bernie's only chance to stake any legitimate claim to the Democratic nomination. Even though his popularity is evident, without the majority of  actual votes, Bernie doesn't earn or deserve a victory in our political system.

Tonight we'll see how anxious Californians are to hand Hillary a defeat and watch the media spin their way out of another bad prediction.

I have faith in California.