THE CLINTON VS. SANDERS PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION BATTLE

By the Post Tribune editorial staff

Earlier this week, the two leading candidates for the Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders sat down with voters in Iowa to explain why they should be the next President of the United States.

Senator Clinton spoke about her experience as a U.S. Senator and as the country’s chief diplomatic officer. She also spoke about her closeness to President Obama. The former First Lady defended the Affordable Care Act as a principled piece of legislation that has drastically decreased the number of uninsured people in the United States.

Senator Sanders has stated that he would scrap the legislation and push a single-payer system in its place. Sanders, who describe himself as a “Democratic Socialist,” said that a major issue in the presidential contest was judgment,  and that Secretary Clinton lacked the judgement that he possessed.

Senator Clinton told the town hall audience that she had been on the “front lines” of political battles for the majority of her political life,  and suggested that Senator Sanders was late to many of the important struggles facing the country.

Calling for sensible gun legislation, she criticized Senator Sanders for what she described as his  lack of support for a “sensible gun policy.” Senator Sanders pointed out that in 2002 he voted against the Iraq War, while his opponent voted for it.

Sanders told voters that his healthcare plan would require a tax increase, something that Senator Clinton said would not be necessary in her administration that would continue to support and improve the Affordable Care Act.

Senator Clinton mentioned an interview during which President Obama described her as “good, smart and tough.”  In that same interview the president suggested that Senator Sanders did not have the experience that Clinton had.

Senator Sanders said that the country was run by billionaires,  and that the average person did not stand a chance to get ahead. He said that he would break up large banks and suggested that Clinton was controlled by large banks and Wall Street types.

Senator Clinton said that she would stand a better chance of beating the Republican candidate in the fall than would Senator Sanders. She suggested that it would be a risk to make him the Democratic nominee.

The other candidate in the forum, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has not done well in the polls and is considered a very long shot to win the nomination. He said that while Governor of Maryland he worked with community resident to improve inner-city neighborhoods.

After the contest in Iowa, the nation’s attention will turn to New Hampshire and then to South Carolina. The race seems to be heating up. Many are calling it neck to neck. Keep reading the Post Tribune for the best election coverage.