Source: Time
Hillary Clinton’s rivals questioned her commitment to tighter rules on guns, her hawkish foreign policy tendencies and even her age. None of that mattered.
The former Secretary of State batted away questions about her character and her policies during Saturday night’s debate near Manchester, N.H. In turn, she reminded Democrats why she has enjoyed months at the top of the polls: she’s a tough competitor, policy wonk and compelling messenger. Even when facing with stinging criticism, she kept her cool and returned as good as she got on the campus of Saint Anselm College.
“Secretary Clinton changes her position on this every election year it seems,” former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said, criticizing Clinton’s record on gun rights. Clinton had a rejoinder ready. “I applaud his record,” Clinton said, before adding: “I just wish he wouldn’t misrepresent mine.” She then noted that his follow-up criticism of her for ties to Wall Street rang hollow; as head of the Democratic Governors Association, O’Malley courted the same donors.
The three-hour sessions was yet the latest reminder that this Democratic primary season has been something of a farce, and why her rivals have made compelling cases that they, too, find the contest a sham. The policy questions, for the moment, are being run roughshod by Clinton’s personality and political machine.
Barring a major change in the campaign, Clinton stands to be the nominee of a party that remains deeply divided over the future of its policies on social program. Those fractures played out on national television, although no one was expecting record audiences on a Saturday night before Christmas. After all, these three-person debates lack the star power of Donald Trump or even a primetime weeknight audience, and this one came in the middle of the holidays. It’s tough to be politically engaged when neighbors are serving eggnog.
The long-term questions for Democrats, however, persist. There were divisions among the three remaining contenders that reflect the broader debate happening inside the party. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wants free college, while Clinton wants new college graduates to earn their degrees without piles of debt. Sanders suggested Clinton was too eager to topple enemy regimes, while she pitched him as naïve. And O’Malley tried and tried and tried to land a punch against Clinton, but she dodged him at every swing and only emerged a more likely nominee.
“Now this is getting to be fun,” Sanders said.
Categories: America, The Muslim Times, US Politics