There is some notion out there that Hillary should be playing nice during the primaries. That her bare-knuckled approach will turn away voters and that she is dividing the party. There is no evidence that either of these things is happening. Democratic interest and voting are at a record high. The only dividers are those who will NEVER vote for HRC.
Yes. It would be nice if there were an uplifting political discourse during the entire race. That was the case early on when no one's positions were well known. That time is now past. The campaign now at the point where all campaigns end-up: it is all about winning. John, Barack and Hillary all know this. Hillary is the only one who has figured out how to do it. She may be ruthless in her pursuit of victory, but is not "evil" or anything else that the right wing wants to believe. The is just doing what it takes to win.
Hillary has taken on the tactics of the general election. Most people on this site don't like those tactics. But like them or not, they are winning it for her. And like it or not, if you can't win the primary, you can't win the general. And like it or not, they are the same tactics that will be used against whoever our standard bearer is, only the Repugs will cross EVERY line of decency. They will stoop to lows that no Democrat could ever get away with in the primaries.
So, if Barack and John can't figure out how to counter the tactics employed by Hillary, they wouldn't stand a chance against the Repugs anyway.
Winning is everything.