Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made direct appeals to overcome their challenges with key Democratic constituencies, such as women and minorities. And he trotted that out constantly Thursday night.
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She took on her rival not with the volume and broadsides that have characterized many of her public performances in the first two nominating contests but with a more measured approach aimed at winning back voters who have been gravitating to Sanders.
He pushed back on Clinton’s criticism of Sanders’ policy proposals in the debate on Thursday night as unrealistic, saying her message was “technocratic management” contrasted with “an inspirational, inclusive vision for the nation” from Sanders. “I worked with Ted Kennedy”.
Another was to paint him as a big talker whose proposals promise too much and “don’t add up”. And he noted that Clinton was the only one on the stage who ran against Obama in the 2008 presidential race.
“Let’s not insult the intelligence of the American people”, Sanders said. Sanders also led Clinton 49%-36% on the question of which candidate was more progressive.
“I don’t think our country can live up to its potential unless we give a chance to every single American to live up to theirs“, Clinton said. Polling in Nevada is extremely sparse, but a Gravis Marketing Survey done in December had Clinton leading Sanders 50%-27%.
Sanders’ strength has startled Clinton’s campaign. It was the first time I had ever seen Sanders rattled.
“Look, I think that she’s been saying that for as long as I’ve known her, which is about 25 years”. “There aren’t enough good paying jobs especially for young people”.
At the PBS NewsHour televised debate, Clinton repeatedly emphasised her ties to President Barack Obama who is extremely popular among minority voters.
Another believes “Senator Sanders has practical ideas which favour Main Street over Wall Street!” “Absolutely not, and among other things, he has not been as strong as he should standing up to Wall Street”. “He is running to be the standard-bearer of the Democratic Party, although he just became a Democrat within the a year ago”.
David Axelrod tweeted: “Not a low blow”. “I’m just not sure I agree completely with that assessment”, she told Woodruff.
And it reflected the shifting terrain of the Democratic race. On Twitter, the conversations reflected an even-up debate: 50 percent for Clinton, 50 percent for Sanders. Those states have more black and Hispanic voters, who, polls show, have been more supportive of Mrs Clinton so far.
Georgia holds its primary March 1, on Super Tuesday.
Both candidates made overtures to minority voters with a discussion of racial disparities in the economy and discrimination in hiring, schools and housing.
THE FACTS: Sanders exaggerated the rate of incarceration for black males, as Clinton did in an earlier debate. While Sanders was critical of Clinton’s admiration for former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Clinton went after Sanders’ criticism of President Obama’s leadership, noting that “the kind of criticism that we’ve heard from Sen”.
“In her book and in this last debate, she talked about getting the approval or the support or the mentoring of Henry Kissinger”, Sanders said.
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SANDERS: Well, you know, I think from an historical point of view, somebody with my background, somebody with my views, somebody who has spent his entire life taking on the big money interests, I think a Sanders victory would be of some historical accomplishment as well. “Well, it ain’t Henry Kissinger”.
