Bill Clinton weighs in on Wall Street attacks

Sanders and Martin O’Malley both sought at the debate to paint Clinton as a favorite of Wall Street, with Sanders questioning why big banks and financial institutions were her chief campaign contributors.

“They have to get really into the weeds to try and delineate their policies”. Democrats have spent months boasting about the substantive tone of their contest, attempting to set up a favorable early contrast with the “carnival barker” insults of the crowded Republican primary.

Martin O’Malley, who spoke after Clinton at the barbecue, hit Clinton for remarks at the debate on Saturday that about 9/11 and campaign contributions. She said that the “bulk of the responsibility” falls to the leaders in the region.

Where she floundered: She had to dodge questions about the Obama administration’s legacy on terrorism – and it is a pretty poor legacy.

Sanders reiterated his call for breaking up the big banks and pointed out he is the only Democratic candidate without the support of super PACs. Barack Obama to victory in 2008.

Sanders said Clinton’s response was “not good enough”. But she suggested a more proactive approach than she had in the debate, when she dodged a question about whether the Obama administration had underestimated the Islamic State and seemed to take a fatalistic view of terrorism connected to chaos in the Middle East. That being said, she did not declare war on ISIS.

On Saturday night, during a Democratic debate in Des Moines, Iowa, the message got a boost from Clinton herself.

“I think what the president has consistently said-which I agree with-is that we will support those who take the fight to [the Islamic State]”, Clinton said.

Sanders responded by arguing that USA foreign policy in the Middle East is partly to blame for the rise of extremism there and criticized Clinton for supporting the Iraq War when she served in the U.S. Senate. “I don’t want us to be painting with too broad a brush”.

-Clinton is by a wide margin the candidate debate watchers trust the most on national security issues. Marco Rubio and other Republican presidential candidates, is unnecessarily offensive to American Muslims.

The conversation revealed how Sanders’ message has helped shift the party to the left on a few economic issues.

To hear her Democratic opponents tell it, Hillary Clinton is the darling of Wall Street.

The plan backed by Sanders, a senator from Vermont, would be paid for with an increase in the payroll tax that would cost the average worker about $72 a year.

Clinton fired back, charging that Sanders was trying to “impugn my integrity”.

The night also included a lighter moment, after Sanders brought up his plan to remove marijuana from the federal government’s list of risky drugs, a step that would allow states to legalize marijuana without impediments from Washington. Then came the Paris attacks. She parried each attack and, as in the first debate, showed she was prepared to lash out at what she perceived as her rivals’ weaknesses.

Even as the worldwide community mourned those lost in the attacks on Paris, the former first lady, senator, and secretary of state gained favor among surveyed Democrats for her global experience and ability to deal with the unsettled problems of the world.