Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clashed sharply in a debate on Thursday over their support for US president Barack Obama, with Mr Sanders accusing Mrs Clinton of "a low blow" after she compared him to Republicans.
As the Democratic race moves to states with large minority populations, both candidates openly courted black and Hispanic votes during a debate that was far more restrained and cordial than last week’s contentious debate in New Hampshire.
In the sharpest exchange of the night, Mrs Clinton attacked Mr Sanders for being too critical of Mr Obama, who is extremely popular with the black voters who will play a big role in the outcome in South Carolina and other upcoming nominating contests.
“The kind of criticism that we’ve heard from Senator Sanders about our president, I expect from Republicans, I do not expect from someone running for the Democratic nomination to succeed President Obama,” said Mrs Clinton, who served as secretary of state during Mr Obama’s first term.
“Madam Secretary, that is a low blow,” said Mr Sanders, a US senator from Vermont. Mr Sanders said he had been an Obama ally in the Senate even if he did not always agree with him.
“Do senators have the right to disagree with the president?” Mr Sanders said.
Mrs Clinton, who has eagerly embracedMr Obama’s legacy, said Mr Sanders had called Mr Obama weak and a disappointment, and “that goes further than saying we have our disagreements.”
Mrs Clinton entered Thursday’s debate under acute pressure to calm growing nervousness among her supporters after her drubbing in New Hampshire and a razor-thin win the prior week in the Iowa caucus. Both states have nearly all-white populations.
For his part, Mr Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist, hoped to harness the momentum and enthusiasm he gained from the first two contests and prove he can be a viable contender to lead the Democratic Party to victory in the November 8th presidential election.
“What our campaign is indicating is that the American people are tired of establishment politics,” Mr Sanders said. “They want a political revolution.”
With Mrs Clinton looking to rebound after her crushing 22-point loss to Mr Sanders in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, the two also differed over healthcare.
Mrs Clinton said that Mr Sanders proposal for a single-payer, Medicare-for-all healthcare plan would mean dismantling the program known as Obamacare and triggering another intense political struggle.
“Based on every analysis I can find by people who are sympathetic to the goal, the numbers don’t add up,” Mrs Clinton told Mr Sanders. “That’s a promise that cannot be kept.”
Mr Sanders said he was simply moving to provide what most industrialised countries have, healthcare coverage for all.
“In my view healthcare is a right of all people, not a privilege, and I will fight for that,” said Mr Sanders.
The Judicial System and Race
With an eye too the minority vote , both candidates decried the high incarceration rate of African-Americans and called for broad reforms of the criminal justice system.
Mr Sanders said the disproportionately high rate of incarceration for black men was "one of the great tragedies" in the United States.
He called for “fundamental police reform” that would “make it clear that any police officer who breaks the law will in fact be dealt with.”
Mrs Clinton criticised what she called “systemic racism” in education, housing and employment. “When we talk about criminal justice reform we also have to talk about jobs, education, housing and other ways of helping communities of colour,” she said.
They both agreed on the need for immigration reform, an important issue to Hispanic voters, though they clashed over the Obama administration’s actions on handling a wave of undocumented children who entered the country alone. Mrs Clinton criticised Mr Sanders for voting against a reform measure in 2007, which Mr Sanders defended because of a provision in the bill for guest workers.
Mrs Clinton entered Thursday’s debate under acute pressure to calm growing nervousness among her supporters after her drubbing in New Hampshire and a razor-thin win the prior week in the Iowa caucus. Both states have nearly all-white populations.
The race now moves to what should be more favourable ground for Mrs Clinton in Nevada and South Carolina. Those states have more black and Hispanic voters, who, polls show, have been more supportive of Mrs Clinton so far.
Reuters