But before long, that solemn note gave way to a few polite political punches.
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The Democratic debate rounded up on Paris attacks, so it was expected for Hillary Clinton to approach an offensive speech and consolidate her status as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, says The Washington Post, but her tone was too defensive, giving Sanders and even O’Malley a chance to strike back.
Bernie Sanders, asked about the donations that Clinton receives from Wall Street, mocked the idea that campaign contributions don’t influence politicians. Maybe they’re dumb and they don’t know what they’re going to get, but I don’t think so… Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.
But despite that, the number who tuned in was sharply down on the almost 16 million people who watched the first Democratic debate of the 2016 presidential campaign on October 13 on CNN.
Cruz, Trump and Ben Carson, another leading candidate, have been the party’s most vocal in terms of sealing the border to contain the threat of domestic terrorism.
“I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that invasion of Iraq led to the level of instability we’re seeing now”, Senator Sanders charged.
Mr. Kofinis identified one vulnerability: Mrs. Clinton’s ties to Wall Street, exemplified by an answer to a question about accepting donations from rich bankers that has been widely mocked.
“Those of us who were there know that”, he told reporters gathered on the rope line after Hillary Clinton spoke Sunday at the Central Iowa Democrats Fall Barbecue on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames.
“Attacking Paris, the city of light, reminds us that there is no middle ground in going after these terrorists”, she said.
Sec. Clinton had an obvious advantage during the beginning of the evening when the discussion centered on terrorism and foreign affairs, but all three candidates disavowed the Republican assertion that America is at war with “radical Islam“. She has this facility for saying things – like “dead broke” – that leave the listener feeling that intelligence has not merely been insulted but assaulted. “We were attacked in downtown Manhattan where Wall Street is”, said the then-senator.
Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee’s chief strategist, called her comments “an intersection between stupid and offensive”.
We can also measure who generated the most Google searches on each candidate, a way to get a sense of which candidates got viewers interested enough to start searching for information.
“O’Malley’s campaign is said to be “running on fumes” financially”, as one Democrat not affiliated with any campaign characterized it – and he has precious little time to escape the single-digit poll numbers he’s been mired in.
They argued over how high to increase the minimum wage, with Mrs Clinton backing a 12 dollar (£7.90) an hour floor.
“I represented NY on 9/11 when we were attacked”, she said at the debate.
But the Sanders team appeared to make a conscious decision to lay off Clinton on the 9/11 remark.
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“I agree completely”, said Clinton, with a laugh.
