Don't look now Hillbots, but Bernie's poll numbers are at record highs, and continue to climb!

[Jarqui]

80. I want Bernie to win but

"the fact that Bernie has gained just as much support as Hillary these past few weeks, and is in fact now at record high numbers nationally"

I'm not so sure that's an accurate claim.

At the end of September, Clinton was +13.2 over Bernie. Now, Clinton is +21.6 over Bernie. So Bernie hasn't gained as much support as Hillary over the past few weeks. Bernie is at an all time high in part because Biden dropped out to provide a boost. But Hillary got more of Biden's supporters than Bernie did (which roughly explains Clinton's surge/gain).
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/2016_democratic_presidential_nomination-3824.html

The start of the 2016 primaries is roughly a month later than 2008. So it could be argued that Clinton's lead of +25.6 on Oct 12, 2008 over Obama or her lead of +23.0 on Nov 12, 2008 has Bernie closer to Clinton than Obama was at the same time during their contest - if your looking for something factually positive to grab on to.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/us/democratic_presidential_nomination-191.html#charts

I think what we have to watch closely is the early Feb 2016 primary states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada & South Carolina. Bernie's doing well in NH already. Iowa and Nevada are caucuses of some kind so he could surprise like Obama did there (though you can be sure Clinton will be much more vigilant and determined at the caucus level this time around). In order to close on Clinton and legitimately contend, he's going to need some good early showings to prove he might be able to beat her. Like Obama, that will get him media coverage and momentum if he can pull that off and then we'll have a real contest. Hopefully, something like that happens to close the gap.