Clinton dismissed some of the troubles facing Obamacare as “glitches”, doubling down on her support for the President’s controversial health care reform. Several of the initial shots of the stage showed her empty podium in the middle of the stage-a move that flouts general debate coverage etiquette. Clinton had a rejoinder ready. “Sorry”, she said, to some laughter.
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The rancor that burst into the open on Friday marked a sharp shift in a Democratic primary that has been devoid of drama, particularly compared to the unpredictable Republican contest. The policy questions, for the moment, are being run roughshod by Clinton’s personality and political machine.
Clinton, who has raised much more money than Sanders, has depended significantly on large cheques from big donors.
However, hours before Saturday night’s debate, Weaver told CNN not to expect the same fire from the senator.
The three Democrats targeted Republicans throughout the night but only mentioned Donald Trump by name.
The Sanders campaign sent out a fundraising email highlighting this exchange nearly as soon as the debate was over.
Sanders, however, is likely remind viewers of Clinton’s 2002 vote when she was NY senator authorizing president George W. Bush’s use of military force in Iraq. She also emphasised in the debate, as she has done many times in recent months, that she urged the president to support moderate rebels in Syria in 2012, when she was in her past year as secretary of state.
“In this case, our staff did the wrong thing”, Sanders admitted. Clinton said that Trump is “becoming ISIS’s best recruiter”, while adding that videos of him bashing Muslims are being used to draw in more recruits.
Liberal talk show host Chip Evans said Sanders remedied what many saw as shortcomings in global affairs.
Unlike past encounters, however, Clinton generally avoided going on offense against her rivals.
She called for “much deeper coalitions” in the United States, including in the Muslim-American community.
On Syria, Sanders said that ISIS should be the first priority in terms of dealing with a threat on American soil; Clinton said you couldn’t defeat ISIS without dealing with Assad.
Sanders also attacked Clinton on foreign policy, saying that she’s a “a little too into regime change” and “a little too aggressive” – and doesn’t think through what the unintended consequences are for toppling dictators.
The other candidates hit back – with Sanders interjecting, “Whoa, whoa, whoa”. Some of the criticism even earned her rivals boos from the audience of 1,000 New Hampshire voters.
Actually, Governor O’Malley was testy most of the evening.
“So Hillary and I have a difference”. Sanders fired a staffer for accessing the data.
The Clinton campaign said in a statement early Saturday it was pleased to see the Sanders camp agreed to submit an independent review. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, spoke directly to Trump supporters, warning that Trump wants a low minimum wage.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gives a thumbs-up in front of Vermont Sen. I want to apologize to my supporters.
That message seemed to be “that there is a clash of civilizations, that there is some kind of western plot or even war against Islam, which then I believe fans the flames of radicalization”, said Clinton. “This is not the type of campaign that we run”.
Sanders, however, continued to blame the Democratic National Committee and its data contractor.
According to Sanders, Clinton is an interventionist who would have Americans charging into entanglements overseas without enough consideration for what comes next.
He said that the Democratic Party’s decision to temporarily suspend his campaign’s access to the strategically crucial database was “an egregious act”. “Sanders, that you would join the Democrats who are trying to close the Charleston loophole, that you would sponsor or co-sponsor legislation to remove the absolute immunity”. For them, it was yet another piece of evidence that the Democratic Party’s most Establishment-minded leaders are not-so-subtly pulling for Clinton as the nominee. Now, that the issue has largely been resolved, she said she hopes the Democratic candidates can move on.
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But Clinton let it go. If she is the nominee, Clinton will be hammered by her Republican opponent on the chaos in the Middle East.
