Democrats Must Go Beyond Mere Opposition to Trump . The Liberal Establishment's Al Hunt Laments The Loss .

Bloomberg reports:

As the still shell-shocked Democrats try to figure out what went wrong and what to do about it, Hillary Clinton's formal announcement of her candidacy in 2015 would be a good starting point.

The beautifully produced two-minute video was replete with attractive and aspirational Americans. It presented a diversity of color, young, old, gay and lesbian couples, a single mother and immigrant entrepreneurs. The candidate, who appears in only about a third of the video, was comfortable and self-assured. Even though she warned that the deck was too often stacked against average Americans, her tone was upbeat.

It got good reviews for tone and content. The New York Times reported, misleadingly, that it included "plenty of white working-class people," a signal that she would address these voters' concerns in the campaign. A subsequent Times video chat was more insightful: Top political reporter Maggie Haberman noted that despite the video's high production values "it's not clear what her message is." The theme, she said, seemed to be striking a balance between "things are getting better" and "things are great."

For the economically struggling voters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan -- the ones who determined the election -- that didn't seem reassuring. Their unease didn't abate much over the next year and a half.

The Democrat party forgot about white folks who don't work for the government.