Hillary Clinton went after rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for his critiques of President Barack Obama during Thursday’s Democratic presidential debate, calling them the kind of criticisms she’d “expect from Republicans.”
Clinton, who served as secretary of state in the Obama administration, went on an unprompted mini-diatribe about her Democratic opponent for calling the president “weak” and “a disappointment.” Earlier in the day, Sanders told an MSNBC reporter that he didn’t think Obama was able to close the gap between Congress and the American people.
“From my perspective, maybe because I understand what President Obama inherited—not only the worst financial crisis but the antipathy of the Republicans in Congress,” Clinton said. “I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves for being a President who dug us out of that ditch, put us on firm ground and himself sent us into the future.”
Clinton got some of the loudest applause of the night for that defense.
Sanders called the attack “a low blow,” pointing out that he has served as a senator under Obama for the last seven years and admires what the president has accomplished.
“When President Obama came into office, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month—800,000 jobs a month,” Sanders said. “We had a $1.4 trillion deficit and the world’s financial system was on the verge of collapse. As a result of his efforts and the efforts of [Vice President] Joe Biden against unprecedented—I was there in the Senate—unprecedented Republican obstructionism, we have made enormous progress.”
“But you know what?” he continued. “Last I heard we lived in a Democratic society. Last I heard a United States senator had the right to disagree with the president, including a president who has done such an extraordinary job.”
Then start fucking talking like it, instead of peddling the “we are doomed without a ‘revolution’…” nonsense.
Look, I like Sanders and have been leaning his direction, but come on “low blow”…?
Fucking pathetic. That was a glass-jaw response.
I know Bernie can’t help it, BUT …when he says Barack’s name it sounds like he saying Obummer.
If he hopes to take the country left of Obama – he needs to lead the cheers.
And that would be the majority of Democrats, including me.
I thought she was fantastic, at the best I’ve seen her in this exchange. I thought she wasn’t merely defending Obama, although her defense was outstanding, she was also talking about the shit Republicans have flung at her for the last two and a half decades. It seemed like she was signaling that she knew better than anyone (except her husband) what it’s like to have to fight the GOP tooth and nail when you’re trying to do what’s right for this country, only to have your own party shit on you and deny the credit deserved.