Some Sanders strategists, and Clinton backers, say Bernie should have hit Clinton harder last fall

Jane and Bernie Sanders — (Image credit: Laura Buckman/AFP/Getty Images)

Sen. Bernie Sanders started believing that he could beat Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination this winter, and his campaign's original plan involved sweeping the first three contests: the Iowa caucus, New Hampshire primary, and Nevada caucus, The New York Times reports. After he won New Hampshire and narrowly lost the other two, the Sanders campaign had some decisions to make, and some second-guessing.

Some advisers, including Sanders' wife, Jane Sanders, suggest that Bernie should have campaigned more in 2015 — when he was taking his job as senator seriously (he has been more lax this year) — especially in Iowa and Nevada. Others argue he should have run ads courting black voters sooner. Several of "more than 15 people" on Sanders' "team or close to him" that Patrick Healy and Yamiche Alcindor at The Times spoke with say he should have hit Clinton over her Goldman Sachs speaking fees earlier, and attacked her over her email scandal. The trick would have been doing that without damaging Sanders' appeal.

"The central complication with Bernie is that he never wanted to cross into the zone of personal attacks because it would undercut his brand," explained senior adviser Tad Devine. "Is there another candidate who could have run a tough negative campaign against her from the beginning and been effective? Sure, but it couldn’t have been Bernie. That's just not who he is." You can read more — including some pretty hard slaps at Clinton from former Sen. Bob Kerrey, who has endorsed Clinton — at The New York Times.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.