O’Malley hit Sanders on his gun control record. Was he right?

Earlier in the debate, Sanders was prodded to apologize for the latest unexpected development to complicate his campaign – a crisis that erupted Friday over snooping by Sanders’ since-fired digital director into confidential voter files that Clinton’s campaign had stored in a Democratic National Committee database.

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley met for their final debate of the year at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.

MANCHESTER, N.H. Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton on Saturday said that as president she would probably still pick out the dinnerware and flowers for state occasions and send her husband, former president Bill Clinton, on special missions.

“Not only do I apologize to Secretary Clinton”, Sanders said when asked about a staffer looking at Clinton’s campaign information, “I want to apologize to my supporters”.

O’Malley also offered a harsh rebuke to the “political danger” wielded by Trump and other “unscrupulous leaders (who) try to turn us upon each other”. No Democratic or Republican presidential candidate has ever received so many contributions at this stage in the race.

Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, kept an eye on the general election, sharply criticizing Donald Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering the United States. “And I think he’s just become more and more comfortable in this environment”. “And Wall Street is going to like me even less”. “I believe that when we have some 300 million guns in this country, I believe that when we have seen these horrific mass killings, not only in San Bernardino, but in Colorado and movie theaters in Colorado, I think we have got to bring together the vast majority of the people who do in fact believe in sensible gun safety regulations”.

“Arming more people is not the appropriate response to terrorism”, she said.

Clinton reassured voters in a speech at Minneapolis on Tuesday that she would destroy the Islamic State group but not launch a ground war in the Middle East. She also highlighted the differences with her Republican foes, notably front runner Donald Trump and his incendiary statements. Clinton, as a US senator from NY, had voted to authorize the war in a vote she has since disavowed.

He also returned again and again to the theme of “regime change” when dealing with dictators.

Sanders said he had lost an election in Vermont for a gun-control stance and Clinton said she had backed gun-control measures.

“A lot of people are understandably reacting out of fear and anxiety about what they’re seeing… and Mr. Trump has a great capacity to use bluster and bigotry to inflame people and to make them think there are easy answers to very complex questions”, Clinton said. I want to make sure the wealthy pay their fair share, which they have not been doing.

“Sanders and Clinton were quick to respond, with the senator from Vermont quickly speaking up”. “We have got to get our foreign policies and our priorities right”, he said, noting that it’s ISIS attacking the United States and France, and blowing up jetliners – not Assad.

She says it’s important for a Democrat to succeed President Barack Obama.

“I worry Secretary Clinton is too much into regime change and too aggressive without knowing what the consequences will be”, he said, his clearest contrast with Clinton to date.

Sanders apologised to Clinton for the breach.

Clinton and Sanders were joined on stage by former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has struggled to be a factor in the race.

The two also disagreed over health care, with Sanders arguing that his Medicare-for-all vision of ending private insurance would save Americans money, while Clinton warned that it would leave more power in the hands of Republican governors.

He said that the most recent breech involved inappropriate behaviour by one of his staff members, adding that person had now been dismissed. Taxes can be “a pretty good investment”, Sanders said.

Weaver suggested further favoritism when pointed out that the DNC has scheduled few debates for the party candidates, and most of the debates were scheduled for the weekend, when viewership is low and any risk to Clinton can be minimized.

Sanders turned in his strongest debate performance yet, alternating between both anger and wry humor when appropriate, and ably laying out the substantive differences between himself and Clinton as he presented himself as the conscience of the progressive movement.