I'M PICKING UP A HINT OF INSECURITY FROM BERNIE SANDERS

Politico is reporting that Bernie Sanders seems to be on the verge of a rapprochement with Hillary Clinton, but I'm not so sure:

After spending an hour meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House, Bernie Sanders vowed to stay in the race for Tuesday's District of Columbia primary while acknowledging that he would work with Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump in the general election.

Did Sanders acknowledge that he would work with Clinton? Based on the quotes in the Politico story, I don't think so. I think he acknowledged that he planned to discuss the terms under which he'd work with Clinton. Not the same thing:

"Needless to say, I am going to do everything in my power and I will work as hard as I can to make sure that Donald Trump does not become president of the United States."

Sanders continued, "I will of course, be coming in the D.C. primary which will be held next Tuesday."

... Sanders said he spoke "briefly to Secretary Clinton" on Tuesday night, congratulating her "on her very strong campaign."

"I look forward to meeting with her in the near future to see how we can work together to defeat Donald Trump and to create a government which represents all of us and not just the 1 percent," Sanders concluded.

It's pretty obvious how Sanders can work with Clinton to defeat Donald Trump, Bernie: He endorses Clinton. He campaigns for her. He encourages his supporters to vote for her. He tell them that she's still a hell of a lot better than the alternative. I'm not sure what needs to be discussed, except a quid pro quo that the two sides might not be able to agree on.

Meanwhile, check out the very beginning of this short clip of Sanders. It suggests that he's still collecting and curating grievances:

Bernie Sanders: I look forward to meeting with Hillary Clinton “in the near future” https://t.co/vZiEVsnXfE https://t.co/CBqYzSZZXf

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 9, 2016

Sanders says:

Also, I look forward to the full counting of the votes in California, which I suspect will show a much closer vote than the current vote tally.

Look, Bernie, it sucks, but you came up short. Is it worth obsessing over the final California totals? You ran a hell of a race. You gave the party establishment fits -- in fact, you're still doing that. Will a shift of half a percentage point in California really make a huge difference to you?

Are you as emotionally needy as Donald Trump?

On that subject, I'm reminded of a detail from Robert Costa's story in The Washington Post after Tuesday's primaries were over:

Taking the stage on Tuesday to Bruce Springsteen’s “We Take Care of Our Own,” Sanders basked in the adulation of more than 3,000 supporters gathered in an airplane hangar in Santa Monica. Swelling cheers lasted nearly three minutes as the hoarse senator said “thank you” and waved from his lectern.

“They’re with you,” Jane Sanders whispered to her husband. “They’re still with you.”

That's the sound of a wife whose husband needs regular reassurance of his self-worth.

Now, obviously this kind of insecurity is widespread in the world of politics (and in ordinary life). Sanders is far from unique. But I'm really starting to wonder if this is the principal reason for the overly prolonged endgame.

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The other possibility, of course, is that Sanders is hinting at the notion, widely shared by his most fervent followers, that he's the victim of widespread voters fraud. (My favorite Internet headline on that subject: "Bernie Sanders Wins California Landslide BUT 2/3 of his Votes Aren’t Counted.") If that's the case, he needs an intervention.