Yet he was also visibly unsettled when Clinton called him out for some of his past criticisms of Obama. Much of Sanders’ appeal stems from his ability to channel and amplify voters’ own fury at the USA economic system eight years after a crisis in the financial system plunged the country into a deep recession. She rejected the idea that “if you take donations from Wall Street, you can’t be independent”.
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“African-Americans can’t wait for solutions – they need results now”, Clinton said in a statement welcoming the backing of the Congressional Black Caucus’ political action committee. “We have today a campaign finance system which is corrupt, which is undermining American democracy, which allows Wall Street and billionaires to pour huge sums of money into the political process to elect the candidates of their choice”. “I guess for the fun of it – they just want to throw money around”. Clinton replied that she was not concerned about disagreement on issues. In a Politico interview, Obama praised both Clinton and Sanders.
While he noted that his “Medicare for all” program would save the average middle-class family $5,000 a year, he did not present his vision in any new way or frame the issue in personal terms for average voters.
The race now moves to what should be more favourable ground for Clinton in Nevada and SC, states with more black and Hispanic voters, who, polls show, have been more supportive of Clinton so far. A comment by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, at a rally with Clinton on Saturday, that “there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support women”, also fell flat among young women voters drawn to the promise of a social movement.
He called for “fundamental police reform”, and said Americans are “sick and tired” of seeing unarmed African Americans killed by police officers.
While Clinton still holds a big lead among party insiders known as superdelegates, who can support the candidate of their choice, the first two contests made clear that Sanders has undermined her once dominant position as the favorite for her party’s nomination. Sanders about our president I expect from Republicans.
“Now Sanders is promising to do more to improve race relations than President Obama?”. “African-Americans who face discrimination in the job market, education, housing, and the criminal justice system”, she said.
– Amy Chozick reported from Milwaukee, and Patrick Healy from NY.
“Let’s not in any way imply here that either President Obama or myself would in any way not take on any vested interest”, Clinton added.
While the candidates traded relatively few barbs, contrasting their own records instead of hitting the opposition, some of the sharpest remarks came during the foreign policy portion of the debate. “One of us ran against Barack Obama”, Sanders charged.
Clinton, for her part, cited the late Nelson Mandela, the legendary leader of South Africa, as her foreign role model in worldwide affairs.
Clinton sought to embrace Obama during entire debate, saying “I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves”.
Remember when, in the heat of the 2008 primary, Obama looked at Clinton mid-debate and said, dismissively, that she was “likeable enough”?
“Secretary Clinton, you’re not in the White House yet”, Sanders said to Clinton as she pitched her plans as pragmatic and criticized his policies as unachievable.
“I think a Sanders victory would be of some historical accomplishment as well”, he said.
“I do not believe a vote in 2002 is a plan to defeat ISIS in 2016”, Clinton said in response to Sanders once again bringing up her vote for the war in Iraq in 2002.
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Thursday’s debate was the last for the Democrats for almost a month. Her unscripted graduation speech blasting the commencement speaker – her former mentor and lone black United States senator, Edward Brooke – drew national attention.
