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U.S. NEWSWednesday 14 October
Candidates Clash in Vegas at First Democratic Debate
peatedly sounded tradi- Also hanging over the de-
tional Democratic themes
— such as fighting income bate: the lengthy delibera-
inequality — that are sure
to carry over to the general tions of Vice President Joe
election campaign against
the Republicans. Biden, who is weighing a
First, the Democrats must
choose their own candi- late entry into the Demo-
date. And throughout most
of the two-hour debate cratic race. Debate host
Clinton played the role of
aggressor, an unexpected CNN kept an extra podium
shift for the Democrat-
ic front-runner who had on standby just in case
barely mentioned her rivals
since launching her cam- Biden decided to show
paign six months ago. Until
now, Clinton and Sanders up, but the vice president
— who has emerged as
her toughest competition instead stayed in Washing-
— have circled each other
cautiously and avoided ton, where he was watch-
personal attacks.
After the Vermont sena- ing the debate at his resi-
tor, a self-described dem-
ocratic socialist, derided dence.
“a casino capitalist pro-
cess by which so few have For Democrats, Tuesday’s
so much,” Clinton said it
would be a “big mistake” debate was an opportunity
for the U.S. to turn its back
on the system that built the to steal attention from the
American middle class.
Asked whether she thought drama in the Republican
Sanders, who has a mixed
record on gun control leg- primary, where more than
islation, had been tough
enough on the issue, she a dozen candidates are
said simply,” No, I do not.”
Sanders defended his gun fighting to overtake billion-
control record, and called
for better mental health aire Donald Trump. The real
services, stricter back-
ground checks and closing estate mogul still made his
a loophole that exempts
Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, left, and Hillary Rodham Clinton laugh during the CNN Demo- gun shows from back- presence known Tuesday
cratic presidential debate, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015, in Las Vegas. ground checks
The two also tangled over night, sending a torrent of
(AP Photo/John Locher) foreign policy, an issue
where Clinton is often more Twitter commentary on the
hawkish than others in the
JULIE PACE outlining competing visions sick and tired are hearing Democratic Party. The for- Democrats’ performances.
LISA LERER for a party seeking to keep about your damn emails,” mer secretary of state re-
Associated Press the White House for a third Sanders exclaimed as the iterated her call for more “Sorry, there is no STAR
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Hillary straight term. crowd in Las Vegas roared robust U.S. action to stop
Rodham Clinton and Sen. Yet in a moment of political with applause. A smiling the Syrian civil war and de- on the stage tonight!” he
Bernie Sanders clashed unity — and levity — Sand- Clinton reached over to fended her judgment on
over U.S. involvement in ers leapt to Clinton’s de- shake his hand and said, international issues, despite wrote. While the Repub-
the Middle East, gun con- fense on the issue of her “Thank you, Bernie.” having voted for the 2002
trol and economic policy in controversial email prac- While the five candidates invasion of Iraq. lican primary has been
the first Democratic presi- tices as secretary of state. onstage took issue with Sanders called the Iraq war
dential debate Tuesday, “The American people are each other, they also re- “the worst foreign policy roiled by the emotional de-
blunder in the history of
our country” and said he bate over immigration, the
would not support sending
American combat troops Democratic candidates
back to the Middle East to
fight terrorism. were largely united in their
“Nobody does, Senator
Sanders,” Clinton interject- call for providing a path
ed.
to legal status for the mil-
lions of people currently in
the U.S. illegally. The party is
counting on general elec-
tion support from Hispanics,
a group that overwhelm-
ingly voted for President
Barack Obama in 2012.
Joining Clinton and Sand-
ers on stage in Las Vegas
was a trio of low-polling
candidates looking for a
breakthrough moment:
former Maryland Gov. Mar-
tin O’Malley; Jim Webb,
a former Navy secretary
and U.S. senator from Vir-
ginia, and former sena-
tor and governor Lincoln
Chafee, the Republican-
turned independent-
turned Democrat from
Rhode Island.
For Clinton, the debate was
a much-needed opportu-
nity to focus on policy in
addition to the controversy
over her exclusive use of
personal email and a pri-
vate Internet server during
her tenure in the Obama
administration. The email
issue has shadowed her
rollout of numerous policy
positions and has hurt her
standing with voters.q
