Well said. I likewise think the “Virginia is permanently blue” line is much exagerrated. Obama was able to assemble a coalition that Hillary cannot replicate. Obama was a perfect storm for Democrats - huge numbers of minorities and young voters.
I will never forget the election of ‘08. Prior to the election, there was this palpable excitement (dread, for me, but it was clear how excited everyone else was). People I didn’t know would say things like “go Obama” as casually as they usually would ask “how you doing?”, hordes of young people would walk the neighborhood on an almost daily basis. My sleepy voting precinct, that I voted at at the same time the preceding two presidential elections, went from being a quick in-n-out affair, with maybe a line 2 or 3 deep at each of the registars, to being jam packed with young people representing every country in the UN, who may as well have been breaking out into dance they were so boisterous. I had to wait almost an hour to vote in a place I had never waited more than a few minutes in.
A perfect storm, but not one to be repeated. Even in ‘12 they were subdued, although they still voted in numbers far exceeding ‘04. But I guarantee they will not be voting for Hillary. I guarantee those silly college kids aren’t wasting their time bothering people at dinner. I guarantee all of the window signs that said “Obama ‘08” do not now read “Clinton ‘16”.