The campaign fired one of the four staffers involved but says the data wasn’t accessed in a way that would give Sanders an unfair advantage.
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“We will not get the support on the ground in Syria to dislodge ISIS if the fighters there who are not associated with ISIS but whose principal goal of getting rid of Assad don’t believe there is a political, diplomatic channel that is ongoing”, she said.
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Martin O’Malley was the third candidate present at the debates, but his views tended to be largely overshadowed by Clinton and Sanders facing off. That was to be expected, since Sanders now has precious little time to gain on Clinton, who is enjoying a significant lead.
And when she said she understood that people are fearful after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, she pivoted to attack Trump.
The debate unfolded amid a minor scandal between the Clinton and Sanders campaigns, with accusations that a data breach was carried out by Sanders’ team against Clinton’s.
This is a result, he said, of “flip-flopping” by Sanders and Clinton.
Despite her unabashed rhetoric toward her Republican counterparts, the former secretary of state did attempt to end on a note that crossed party lines.
Hillary Clinton, left, listens as Martin O’Malley speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.
“I agree, as I mentioned a moment ago, with King Abdullah: this is a war for the soul of Islam”, Sanders said.
Sanders also accused Clinton of supporting overthrowing dictators, only to leave vulnerable nations behind, including Iraq, Libya and Syria.
Over protests from Clinton and Sanders, O’Malley painted himself as the only candidate to consistently stand strong on the issue of gun control.
“With respect to my own husband, I am probably still going to pick the flowers and the china for state dinners and stuff like that”, she said in response to a question.
Sanders also attacked Clinton for what he described as her support for regime change in Syria, saying the United States should prioritise the fight against Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, over working to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power.
Returning to her focus on Trump, Clinton said, “If you’re going to put together a coalition in the region to take on the threat of ISIS, you don’t want to alienate the very countries you need to be part of the coalition”.
Bernie Sanders is still seething over the data breach issue.
Clinton also vowed not to raise taxes on middle-class Americans if elected next November, questioning the affordability of some of Sanders’ proposals such as creation of a single-payer healthcare system and tuition-free college.
“No, I think they won’t”, he said, adding that “Wall Street will like me even less”.
And with Clinton accepting Sanders’ apology, the issue rapidly deflated, and candidates turned to foreign policy and the economy.
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Still, that was an improvement from the Republican debate earlier in the week, when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vowed: “When I stand across from King Hussein of Jordan and I say to him, ‘You have a friend again sir, who will stand with you to fight this fight, ‘ he’ll change his mind”.
