12 standout quotes from the first Democratic debate

The NRA responded by warning that by pushing gun control, Democrats risk a backlash in the general election.

Clinton, who spent Thursday campaigning in suburban Las Vegas, warned her backers that the contest was far from over.

Allen, who co-authored the book; “HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton”, said that compared to her 2008 presidential bid, he sees a “Hillary Clinton that is more focused on winning the primary”. Did I mention that a black man introduced by a black host asked the Black Lives Matter question, and the CNN Latino host asked the immigration questions? Those are admittedly a wholly non-scientific pair of metrics, but the results got the attention of former advisers to President Obama, who said they saw the same dynamic play out during the debates eight years ago. More spending on education, health care and housing.

It’s a familiar conundrum for the party, yet one potentially deepened by the rise of Donald Trump and Ben Carson, candidates whose inflammatory comments seem to only boost their standing in the primary.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at a rally Wednesday, October 14, 2015, in Las Vegas.

The big takeaway is that Bernie Sanders has succeeded in moving Hillary Clinton to the left.

As expected, Clinton’s opponents threw Benghazi, State Department emails and her Wall Street connections at her. She remained poised and polished, deflecting barbs, sometimes persuasively, sometimes not.

“In a partisan crowd you could see how that would work out, but I don’t think Mrs. Clinton’s been forthcoming and I think she has created a problem for herself by not being forthcoming”, Bush said Wednesday night while campaigning in New Hampshire. Referring to his combat experience in Vietnam, Webb said, “I’d have to say the enemy soldier that threw the grenade that wounded me, but he’s not around right now to talk to”. She maintained her good mood and big smile in the face of repeated challenges from CNN’s questioners, deploying the classic Clinton strategy of insisting that the campaign is about what the voters need, not what the media and the GOP want to talk about.

Beyond Bernie Sanders’ defense of socialism, two telling moments really stood out to me. Not only did he say that a primary goal of the House Republicans’ Benghazi investigation was to lower Clinton’s poll numbers. The question the party’s voters should consider, in Clinton’s telling, is who can get to the White House to then deliver it.

To be sure, Clinton remains a flawed candidate. But in this latest poll, she slipped into sixth place. This has not always been her disposition in the long slog since the story broke about her email server. She often brings up Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s boast about the political damage to her campaign caused by the congressional panel that uncovered her email practices, citing it as evidence of partisanship. This time around – with second-string competition, not a rising star to block her way – she looks like a shoo-in to become the Democratic nominee.

Hillary Clinton said Iranians and, of course, Republicans.

“Secretary Clinton’s campaign put out a lot of reversals on positions on Keystone and many other things, but one of them that we still have a great difference on, Madame Secretary, is that you are not for Glass-Steagall”, he said. Support for background checks is extremely high – between 85 and 92 percent in recent polls – and wins support from both gun-owning households and other households. Last night more than 40 people showed up to watch the debate at a Bernie Sanders viewing party held at the historic Manhattan Casino located in the Deuces neighborhood of Saint Petersburg.

It was, as Martin O’Malley said, a very different debate from the Republicans’: no racist remarks, not immigrant-bashing, no attacks on women, no clowning or pandering to religious bigotry, and a much more serious policy discussion.