Time for some honest analysis after the Tuesday CNN Debate Debacle on the candidate who has raised more money in the 3rd quarter than anyone else, Bernie Sanders.

The Sanders campaign raised just over $25 million for the 3rd quarter barely beating out Elizabeth Warren at just under $25 million according to CBS News. That would have made an interesting race going into the 4th quarter of this year as the time runs short before the Iowa caucuses and the New Hamshire primaries for both of these candidates.

Then the first week of October hit and Sanders had a heart attack and that changed the makeup of this whole primary season.

The announcement yesterday that Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and the other members of The Squad will be endorsing Bernie is just a 24-hour temporary shot in the arm that will have no effect on this campaign’s demise. Nice gesture but ultimately meaningless.

So why am I saying this?

According to the CDC, Bernie Sanders was one of 790,000 Americans who have a heart attack every year. Being this was his first, he was one of 580,000 that had that happen this year. Sanders is to be commended that he took the signs seriously and had it treated immediately. This undoubtedly saved his life.

However, with all that positive news, these facts remain.

Tuesday night, anyone who was tuning in at one point or another was watching Sanders more closely than anyone else. Because of our natural curiosity to see if a 78-year-old man who is two weeks from a heart attack looks like he is ok. Every single one of us thought about it and many media outlets talked about it before the debate.

This is not meant to be mean or cruel. This is just the reality of what people think and the health reality of what a 78-year-old man who just had a major heart event goes through.

Anyone who goes through a heart attack and is lucky enough to survive has a recuperation period that has to be taken. Naturally, the younger you are, the shorter that period is generally. Bernie is, no doubt, a vibrant guy for a 78-year-old. He is also now a vibrant 78 yr old who just suffered a heart attack and wisely has been resting at home. His first campaign event since his hospital stay will be this Saturday where he will get endorsed by AOC.

However, the campaign calendar is not going to afford Bernie the time to recover. The Iowa caucuses are in 109 days and the New Hampshire primary is one week later.

I would much rather have a vigorous Bernie Sanders out on the trail making his case for his ideas and that he be defeated in that arena than for him to be sidelined like this. Plus I love Larry Davids’s impersonation of him and I want more of that.

Sanders will still be able to influence the Democratic race for the nomination from the sidelines and yes it will be from the sidelines. I’m sure all of the candidates left will be lobbying him heavily for his endorsement as they should.

However, it is only a matter of time before the lack of campaign events scheduled and the whispers of “Where is Bernie?” become the norm and ultimately force him out of the race. Sanders has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with and he still can be for many years to come.

Just not as a candidate for President of the United States.

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