2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumIn Democratic Debate, Hillary Clinton Paints Bernie Sanders’s Plans as Unrealistic.nyt
MILWAUKEE Hillary Clinton, scrambling to recover from her double-digit defeat in the New Hampshire primary, repeatedly challenged the trillion-dollar policy plans of Bernie Sanders at their presidential debate on Thursday night and portrayed him as a big talker who needed to level with voters about the difficulty of accomplishing his agenda.
Foreign affairs also took on unusual prominence as Mrs. Clinton sought to underscore her experience and Mr. Sanders excoriated her judgment on Libya and Iraq, as well as her previous praise of former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger. But Mrs. Clinton was frequently on the offensive as well, seizing an opportunity to talk about leaders she admired and turning it against Mr. Sanders by bashing his past criticism of President Obama a remark that Mr. Sanders called a low blow.
With tensions between the two Democrats becoming increasingly obvious, the debate was full of new lines of attack from Mrs. Clinton, who faces pressure to puncture Mr. Sanderss growing popularity before the next nominating contests in Nevada and South Carolina. She is wagering that even voters excited by Mr. Sanderss inspiring message will reconsider their support when they learn of his lack of experience in foreign policy and his vague explanations for how he will pay for his expansive government programs.
Mrs. Clinton pounced from the start, after Mr. Sanders demurred in saying how much his proposals would increase the size of the federal government. She stepped in and said that by economists estimates, the government would grow 40 percent under Mr. Sanders. And rather than aggressively bashing him, as she did at their debate last Thursday, she appeared to try to get under his skin by implying that he had not been transparent about the cost of his programs, such as his proposed expansion of government health care.
This is not about math this is about peoples lives, and we should level with the American people, Mrs. Clinton said. Every progressive economist who has analyzed that say the numbers dont add up. She then repeated a jab at Mr. Sanderss reputation as a truth-teller that she would return to during the debate: We should level with the American people about what we can do to get quality affordable health care.
I dont know what economists Secretary Clinton is talking to, Mr. Sanders responded, insisting that families could come out with savings. That is absolutely inaccurate.
Mr. Sanders, who has exuded confidence since his New Hampshire win, raising more than $6 million in the 24 hours after the polls closed there, was more pointed and even belittling of Mrs. Clinton at times. He said bluntly that some of her attacks were wrongheaded, and he was dismissive after Mrs. Clinton talked about her plans to increase federal spending by about $100 billion a year. After Mrs. Clinton responded to a question by saying, once Im in the White House, he began his next answer by saying, Secretary Clinton, youre not in the White House yet, drawing some murmurs and jeers.'>>>
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/us/politics/democratic-debate.html?
NRaleighLiberal
(60,019 posts)Some really good stuff in there.
elleng
(131,107 posts)but not surprised. Glad you did.
NRaleighLiberal
(60,019 posts)elleng
(131,107 posts)Fawke Em
(11,366 posts)Bernie has only one connection to the South. His wife. She attended the University of Tennessee for a year and a half to two years until she married and became pregnant.
Not sure why she chose UT, but she still lived most of her life in the North.
That he used "ain't" in the BEST way possible - the ONLY way it's actually used down here (to drive a point home) - is really very honest. THIS is the way it's used.
Hill: "I don't know who it is you listen to...
Bern: "Well, it AIN'T Henry Kissinger."
That's the way you use "ain't."
elleng
(131,107 posts)I use it when I mean it too, and I'm from Brooklyn too!!!
Fawke Em
(11,366 posts)I don't use it in business, but when I mean something, I say "ain't."
You've talked to me. You know I have a slight Southern drawl. But I'm definitively not Southern, as a general rule.
"Ain't" means business.