Democratic candidates appear at Des Moines forum
Bernie Sanders unapologetically warned on Monday that taxes would rise if he is elected President, an admission that could please his liberal base but trigger criticism from Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
For her part, Clinton was high energy on Monday night but she largely steered clear of confronting Sanders directly.
Obama called Clinton a disciplined, thoughtful leader who “knows every policy inside and out” and can “start here, [on] day one”. While Clinton has led the field for months, she’s being challenged anew in Iowa, as well as in New Hampshire, which votes second in the primary contest. Clinton first publicly addressed the controversy in a press conference last March where she defiantly dismissed any concerns about her email usage and said she opted for a private account for both personal and official messages as a matter of “convenience”.
“I’m not willing to say it was an error in judgement, because nothing that I did was wrong”, Clinton said. But it’s not easy.
In response to a question from a Muslim woman who served in the USA armed forces, Clinton attacked Donald Trump, saying his “shameful” language “insults, demeans, denigrates” different people, especially Muslims. He sought to portray himself as the true personification of change in the Democratic race for the White House. “We need a political revolution”. The voter, named Taylor Gipple, then said that it might be because they think she’s dishonest. “I think I have the judgment to do that”. Obama called Clinton “wicked smart”, and said her strengths can be her weaknesses.
Sanders touted his education plan this week through the prism of a young person who may be seeking to become the first in their family to go to college. And, living up to his image as a self-declared Democratic socialist, he warned corporations and the richest Americans that they would pay more. “I will take on the greed of corporate America and the greed of Wall Street and fight to protect the middle class”.
She recounted how a young voter told her that he was deciding between his “heart and his head”. He told the town hall he is “in this to win it”. CNN host Chris Cuomo asked Sanders.
Clinton also embraced favorable comments from President Barack Obama published in Politico Monday which looked very much like an endorsement, though Obama has said he won’t formally back a candidate in the Democratic primary.
Latest polling shows Clinton and Sanders locked in a tight contest in Iowa.
As per RealClearPolitics.Com, which monitors and aggregates all major polls, Clinton leads Sanders 52.0 per cent to 37.4 per cent. Over the weekend and yesterday, Clinton was ndorsed by two major newspapers Des Moines Register and Boston Globe. “I understand that”, he said, days before he’ll face off against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley for the nomination. Republicans concede Clinton’s advantage in experience. Hillary is increasingly hugging Obama in the Iowa home stretch. With the Vermont senator insisting he’s been a consistent gun safety supporter, Clinton’s team dispatched a prominent gun control advocate to deride his “disgraceful record”.
But Sanders said the success of his grassroots presidential campaign shows he is “touching a nerve” with Americans who are yearning for a fair shake. “It’s a tough campaign and it should be because it’s the toughest job in the world”.