Where was the sympathy for Bush voters

[Garrett78]

65. "...policies that are unmistakably in the interests of the vast majority of the people..."

We already have that. But a ratings-focused mainstream media is obsessed with spectacle and creating false equivalencies, while refusing to do the job of fact-checking. And the Saturday Night Live opening from right before the election was pretty spot-on.

"... and candidates who will inspire people to come to the polls and vote."

In spite of voter suppression (thanks a lot, Shelby County v. Holder decision of 2013), Clinton received about as many votes as Obama received in 2012 (but the electoral college, a vestige of slavery, made Trump the president-elect).

She also probably inspired the opposition to an extent. "The deep disgust for Hillary Clinton that drives so many..." A different Democratic candidate using the same exact message and strategy likely would have won (which is not to say there aren't things that should be done a bit differently). For one thing, there wouldn't have been an email/FBI story, which dominated media coverage. But Biden didn't run and nobody else who did run for the nomination would have done as well as Clinton (sorry, Bernie, but the opposition research would have been devastating).

"A major factor in this election was a backslash against the establishment."

And yet the re-election rate of incumbents was even higher than normal. That includes major proponents of the TPP (in Rust Belt states to boot) who won more easily than Trump. Meanwhile, those backed most strongly by Sanders did much worse than Clinton.