She cited votes Mr Sanders cast against specific gun control measures, and suggested that he was unwilling to stand up to the gun lobby.
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When Cooper pushed her on the email scandal, noting that Barack Obama said it was “a legitimate issue” in an interview on 60 Minutes on Sunday, Clinton insisted: “I never said it wasn’t legitimate”.
“I did make a mistake, but I am still standing”, Clinton said.
In a race where she’s being criticized from the left for being too centrist and accommodating to business, Clinton said: “I’m a progressive”.
Bernie Sanders had said Republicans were focusing too much on Clinton’s private e-mails.
“I voted against it”, Clinton said.
But, by and large, the jousting among Democrats wasn’t as stinging as in the Republican debates.
Democratic strategist Jim Manley said he expected O’Malley to be aggressive in going after Clinton in the debate, mostly because it’s his only chance to draw attention to his own campaign. She remains the overwhelming favorite to win the Democratic nomination, but faces an unexpectedly tough challenge from Vermont Sen.
Five hopefuls took part in Tuesday night’s Democratic Party debate.
At the debate, there was a podium ready for Joe Biden, but the vice president said he’ll watch from Washington and has not said if he will or will not run. Not only did the former first lady have answers ready on her emails and her record on Iraq, but she also had clear and concise answers on trade and entitlements. While she rarely mentions Sanders by name, she’s suggested her proposals are more realistic and well-formed than those espoused by the Vermont senator. He is polling well ahead of her in New Hampshire, site of the first 2016 primary.
Sanders unexpectedly came to her aid. “I do support the use of medical marijuana, and I think even there we need to do a lot more research so that we know exactly how we’re going to help people for whom medical marijuana provides relief”.
But Sanders was on the defensive in this audience on guns. “Enough of the emails, let’s talk about the real issues facing America”.
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Sanders argued that “there is a consensus” to strengthen instant background checks and eliminate the so-called gun show loophole. In a later exchange with O’Malley, Sanders defended his position, saying he’s from a rural state where positions on guns are different.
