I try to avoid most political discussions. I feel I'm sufficiently informed in the areas that are important to me, and anything further is just frustrating or pointless, even if I'm talking to people I largely agree with. That said, the coffee shop I frequent had a Bernie Sanders fundraiser today, and I stuffed $10 in the box. I'd never donated to a primary before, and the last time I donated to an election was in '04 for the guy running against Bush. There are some key things I disagree with Sanders on (specifically his promotion of wind and solar power while excluding nuclear), but I'm in the "this is our one chance to elect someone who values voters as people and not votes" camp. But if Clinton is the Democratic nominee, I'll vote for her in the general. When I voted for not-Bush in '04, it was because he wasn't Bush, not because I supported him. But if Clinton is the nominee, that won't be the case. I don't dislike Clinton, I just like Sanders more.
Clinton looks unattractive to a lot of left-leaning people because they think the left is in a stronger position than it has been in a long time and so the Democrats can afford to have a candidate to the left of Reagan. If you're looking at things that way, Hillary is a relic of a very bad few decades and you want someone less pragmatic and more of an idealist now that you don't feel like you're on the retreat. If your glasses are more jade than rose you remember that Obama isn't far to the left of Reagan and the Democrats still had to fight tooth and claw to get anything not completely mundane done for the past 8 years. Give me the compromised, cynical, professional lesser evil. Bernie bringing socialism back into the Overton window is great, but it's not yet time to stop being defensive.
Wow, this is exactly how I feel. Thanks for articulating it so well, these were my inchoate thoughts on the subject. Edit to add: I've never donated to a campaign before but this is really pushing me to.