Clinton and Sanders tangle in transformed race
Little more than 48 hours after the polls closed in New Hampshire, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former secretary of State Hillary Clinton tangled Thursday night in their sixth presidential debate — their contest transformed by Sanders’ crushing victory in the opening primary.
Sanders called for the “courage” to pursue big ambitions; Clinton argued he was making “a promise that cannot be kept.” Sanders added concerns about “a broken criminal justice system” to his litany that includes attacks on the campaign finance system and the “rigged economy.” Clinton repeatedly embraced President Obama, depicting herself as his natural political heir.
And nearly at the end of the evening, she blasted him for questioning Obama’s leadership in an interview and the blurb for a book, calling it “the kind of criticism that ... I expect from Republicans.” He called that “a low blow.”
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Their manner generally was carefully courteous to one another — after all, the debate was hosted by PBS — but their words often were caustic, and they became more heated as the debate wore on. Clinton was in search of momentum after her narrow win in Iowa and near-historic defeat in New Hampshire. Sanders was under pressure to demonstrate he could expand his appeal to include more of the minority voters who will be crucial in the next set of contests.
Nevada, where nearly one in five voters are Latino, will hold Democratic caucuses Feb. 20. A week later, Democrats in South Carolina, a majority of them African American, will vote in the Palmetto State primary.
That brought a sharper focus on questions that haven’t been at the center of previous debates, including notorious cases of police violence against unarmed black men and the issue of mass incarceration of African Americans. Both called for comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants now living in the United States. Both opposed immigration raids that the Obama administration has launched.
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While they espoused similar goals, though, there were some fundamental differences between them in the proper reach and role of the federal government, and in how its political campaigns should be financed. Sanders once again took Clinton to task for her ties to Wall Street and a super PAC supporting her campaign.
They also held an extended exchange, surprisingly enough, on Henry Kissinger, a secretary of State in the Nixon administration. Clinton had invoked his name in the previous debate as a voice she has listened to on foreign policy. “I am proud to say Henry Kissinger is not my friend,” he thundered.
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At the start, Clinton declared she was running for president especially to help “those who have been left out and left behind.”
“I think what our campaign is indicating is that the American people are tired of establishment politics, tired of establishment economics,” Sanders said in his opening statement. “They want a political revolution.”
Neither gave ground, and both repeated language they have used and points they have made in previous debates. At one point, Sanders said to her dismissively, “Secretary Clinton, you’re not in the White House yet.” Asked about whether he might regret upending the potential election of the first woman president, he replied, “I think a Sanders victory would be of some historical accomplishment as well.”
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The debate, moderated by Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill, was held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It was the final face-to-face Democratic showdown scheduled until after the Super Tuesday contests March 1.
By then, the campaign is likely to have taken on a new and sharper definition.
