Forum in South Carolina Features Democratic Candidates

Bernie Sanders and former Gov. Martin O’Malley escalating their criticism of front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton. What matters more, she added, is where she stands now on marriage and other gay rights issues.

But in South Carolina on Friday night, there was a bit less Southern gentility on display. Each candidate did what was essentially a one-on-one interview with the TV host.

Hillary Clinton Attended Donald Trump’s Wedding Hillary talks about attending Donald Trump’s wedding and shares her thoughts on his policies.

“I think contested elections are not a bad thing, but the idea that I worked against President Obama is untrue”, Sanders went on.

But Clinton didn’t spend any time talking about the other candidates, something that’s much easier to do when you’re a front runner.

“I said no to Keystone on day one”, said Sanders.

O’Malley later brushed off questions of his hit on Sanders, after the forum.

Her answer: “I am an extro-introvert”.

Brad Engmann, 32, of Concord, said he agreed with Sanders that it would be good to have background checks for all gun transfers, but he wants more details of how such a system would work to calm gun owners’ fears that the government could use such information to seize firearms. “I am a Democrat”. I’m not a former independent. “We have a long list of nice things Republicans have said about me”. I believe in the party of Franklin Roosevelt, the party of John F. Kennedy.

Clinton was asked about those, including Sanders, who accuse her of being under Wall Street’s influence.

He also offers a lengthy defense of the label “socialist”, or more precisely, “democratic socialist” – the designation that has always made Sanders distinct, but that sharply limits his appeal, according to polls.

His aides insist that that he has not made a dramatic shift to draw sharper contrasts with Clinton.

Sanders’ campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, was bullish, too.

Sanders’ push may be a tough sell considering his chief rival in the Democratic field, Hillary Clinton, is vying to become the first woman president in US history. Admitting she was an “unenthusiastic” supporter of capital punishment, Clinton said it still may be appropriate in certain cases, such as domestic and foreign terrorism.

Maddow brought up Sanders’ recent interview with the Boston Globe editorial board, during which he stated that he disagreed with the former secretary of state on “virtually everything”. Although she’s taken more hawkish positions than President Obama on issues from Libya to Syria, she said that she would not be more aggressive on foreign policy than he has been.

“Well, certainly, in thinking back on it, those were private conversations that people did have”, Clinton told Maddow during the Democratic Forum in South Carolina. In a poll out this week conducted by the forum’s host, Winthrop University, 71 percent of those surveyed said Clinton was their first choice.