Clinton Dings Sanders In Debate: ‘I Am Not A Single-Issue Candidate’

Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton makes a point during a Democratic presidential primary debate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton closed Thursday night’s Democratic presidential debate with one last shot at Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), saying that while they have many similarities, she isn’t “a single-issue candidate.”

Clinton highlighted her breadth of policy experience in her closing statement in the PBS NewsHour debate, casting Sanders as a one-note candidate.

“We agree we’ve got to get unaccountable money out of politics. We agree that Wall Street should never again be allowed to wreck Main Street again,” Clinton said. “But here’s the point I want to make tonight. I am not a single-issue candidate, and I do not believe we live in a single-issue country.”

Opponents have long criticized Sanders for his singular focus on income inequality and campaign finance reform, coupled with perceived shortcomings on foreign relations and national security issues.

Late last month, President Obama signaled support for Clinton with a veiled reference to Sanders in an interview, saying “the one thing everybody understands” about the presidency is “you don’t have the the luxury of just focusing on one thing.”

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  1. Avatar for whiteb whiteb says:

    She nailed it. Her closing argument was excellent. This is Senator Sanders primary deficit - he’s a one issue candidate and this is a complicated multi-issue country.

  2. Single-issue-ism = fair criticism of Sanders.

    I was disappointed that she didn’t agree with Sanders that the campaign finance system is corrupt.

    Overall, both did great tonight. She seems more prepared to serve as president though.

  3. This is totally unfair! Sanders has lots of issues!

    — Millionaires and billionaires
    — Break up the big banks
    — Tax the 1%
    — Business of Wall Street is fraud
    — Corrupt money in politics

    …oh, wait.

  4. I thought Hillary crafted the difference between she and Bernie. I especially liked how she talked about poor White America…which they are often omitted in the debates. She needs to keep that conversation going…

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