Was it really all down to Obama and the endorsement game? Is there anything we can learn from it, or is the lesson "Dems will never accept even simple reforms and should be let go"? Most importantly: how do you answer when people say "you mean the same Bernie that couldn't even win the primary?" Other than the truth which is: Dems couldn't accept someone the party was completely hostile to, had the field been level we'd have sweeped.
It really should've been his to win.
To the media point, I think a lot of that is Trump's fault. When he attacked CNN and the New York Times, it made Democrats who might have been potential Bernie voters start to form an identity around uncritically accepting the mainstream media. Then, a couple years later, CNN and NYT started smearing Bernie and they ate it up because they still had that attachment.
The phrase "corporate media" used to be common parlance even among super establishment libs. Now, I basically never hear it, and I think it ought to be brought back.