I just don't buy it. I'm definitely in Sanders' corner, and I am not a fan of Hillary at all. But this article didn't really allay any fears I have about Sanders' ability to win the general election. I think the big difference between Sanders and other Democratic candidates is that while the others have been called socialist, Sanders explicitly identifies as one. I disagree with the author. The Cold War mentality is still alive and strong in the United States even if it has weakened relative to that time period. All Trump has to do is keep repeating that Sanders is a socialist, and I think he'd win. Half of Sanders' own party doesn't agree with him economically, conservatives will view him as the devil, and I think independents will be mostly turned off by the socialist rhetoric as well. Plus, I think Sanders will struggle to attract hispanic and black voters, even though I think he really shouldn't. I wish that wasn't the case, but that's what I believe. Meanwhile, Trump's candidacy is gaining, but I still think his nomination would be a sign for how weak the Republican party is right now on the national stage than a sign for how strong a candidate he is. He's doing well in the Republican primary, but I think that's a different beast than the general election. Trump can't be stopped now, but that's because the Republican primaries include the demographics that will find the most appeal from Trump. For one, I think Clinton would do better with the aforementioned hispanic and black voters as well as women in general. And I think Clinton would keep the moderates and independents as well. I also really don't see many Sanders supporters voting third party if Trump has a chance, and I really don't see most voting for Trump. This all depends on Clinton remaining scandal free, however. And I haven't exactly been paying a ton of attention lately so I might be completely off-base. Trump has the celebrity of Reagan, but he's not nearly as clean a candidate. I really can't see him winning, and if he does, well, I'll just have to sit back and watch the trainwreck.
I'm also afraid of Sanders' electability. While Clinton may be losing ground to him, she's been the one to take the brunt of Republican character assassinations. And not just this election cycle, but for the last 25 years. Sanders has recently been doing well in national level polling -- a poll has him leading amongst Democratic primary voters nationwide over Clinton -- but that's before taking into account an 8-month long smear campaign by the GOP, assuming he were to win the Democratic nomination. The Republicans have been fighting each other too vehemently to launch any sort of sustained attack on the Dems. But once a candidate is selected, the anti-Bernie attacks will come, and I have nothing but my gut to go by. Trump is a colossal, very sad joke. There's a reason why the sentiment that "Trump will obviously fall out of the race any minute now" was so pervasive for so long. He's a complete ass. But Bernie is a socialist. And I don't know how receptive this electorate will be to nuanced discussion of socialism.