Hillary Clinton wins Democratic debate

The Democratic Party had its chance to appear nationally and showcase its candidates for the Democratic as well as the US voters to make up their minds about the party and the candidate for the presidential election now 13 months away. Following two debates in August and September by the 15 Republican presidential candidates, five Democratic candidates competing for the party's ticket appeared on CNN for the first debate of their party last Tuesday (October 13). Of the five, two only mattered, namely Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. The other three - former Maryland Governor Bill O'Malley, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee went to the debate with their respective poll figures in the lowest of the single digits.

The Democratic debate was a sea change from the debates of the Republicans. The Democratic candidates debated like they had their grasp on existing reality both in the country as well as the world. The Republicans, to the contrary, had in their debates fought one another and debated like they had very little grasp on how to lead the nation. They wanted to weaken Washington substantially to disinvest political power in the grassroots while outside the country, they wanted the United States to take hold of the world by the scruff of the neck and establish USA's dominance. The Democrats, though they differed on issues, did not fight with one another and did themselves and their party proud.

Other than this fundamental difference based on grasp of political reality at home and abroad, the Democratic Party's debate established clearly that it stood for the rights and interests of the poor and the middle class as well as the immigrants and the minorities. The five candidates wanted to change the emphasis of the country's tax system by making the rich pay much more than what they are doing now. Candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (25 per cent) who is running second to Hillary Clinton (46 per cent) repeated time and again during the debate that if elected, his administration's focus would be on the rich 1.0 per cent of the country that enjoys 90 per cent of the nation's wealth to reduce the gap between the rich and the rest. In fact, although he described himself as a "Democratic Socialist", he debated with the passion of a dedicated socialist that earned him the kudos of the left-leaning base of the Democratic Party. However, Americans are not yet ready to elect someone who has been branded a socialist as their President. A recent poll showed that Americans dislike a socialist more than atheist in politics.

Bernie Sanders, who was expected to challenge Hillary Clinton, ended doing the former Secretary of State her greatest political favour so far. Cornered and fighting to come out as the one most expected to become the next US President because of the hole the Republicans have dug for her over the email controversy, the Senator from Vermont came strongly in her favour when the moderator was questioning her on the issue. Hillary Clinton explained that with the use of the private server, she had not broken the law but nevertheless it was a mistake she should have avoided. She added she had made over 50,000 pages from the private server she had used as Secretary of State public to establish that national security had not been compromised. She said that nevertheless, the Republicans are using the Congressional Committee that is an arm of the Republican National Committee to harass and hound her at the expense of taxpayer money.

Bernie Sanders jumped into the email controversy and said: "I think the Secretary is right. And that is I think the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails." The broad smile on the Secretary's face and her warm handshake thereafter said it all. Even if the Secretary had convinced Bernie Sanders before the debate to back her on the email in the debate, she or her team could not have scripted the debate any better. In fact, it was a gift delivered to the Secretary that she did not even dare to expect because she and her team had apprehensions to the contrary - that the Vermont Senator would use the email controversy to attack her to damage her credibility not just in the party but also in the country.

The favour done by Bernie Sanders on the potentially threatening email controversy left Hillary Clinton to debate with confidence and take full advantage with the national electorate with the grounds again created by the Vermont Senator. His passionate espousal of the cause of the poor, the middle class and the minorities left Hillary Clinton to tie their causes into policies without the dangers of being labelled as a socialist. In fact, she described herself as a "progressive" and with that label gave her candidature a significant boost by speaking of the benefits of the poor and the middle class in areas of education, health and tax relief. Unlike Senator Sanders, she did not speak outright for free education in public universities but for significant financial breaks for all to make higher education the privilege of not just the well-to-do.

Clearly Hillary Clinton came out the winner in the debate ironically because the field for her was created by the one who was expected by many to do her the most damage, namely Senator Sanders. The debate thus allowed her comfort from the growing challenge of Senator Sanders. It also may make Vice-President Joseph Biden think more carefully about jumping into the race, as he would now most likely see the Democratic Party falling firmly behind Hillary Clinton where his chances to emerge as the Party's choice out of a tough fight between her and Bernie Sanders would now recede for the time being at least.

Nevertheless, although she came out the winner, the road ahead will still be a tough one for Hillary Clinton. She may have handled the email controversy with some very lucky but unexpected support from Bernie Sanders. The Benghazi affair is also losing its damaging potentials lately thus allowing her to defend two major chinks in her armour. Nevertheless, there are still formidable questions about her candidacy. In the debate, she firmly backed President Obama on foreign affairs, particularly in Syria. Nevertheless, concerns still remain that she had backed the Iraq war. Likewise, her flip-flopping over the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, Keystone Pipeline, gay marriage, immigration, etc. are still bothering many in the country. Her explanation that as a "progressive" she has changed her position on these issues based on experience gained meanwhile for the interest of the people is still being seen by many as political expediency. Many would need to be convinced that she still remains as middle class having meanwhile become a millionaire by the wealth she and her husband, President Bill Clinton, have accumulated.

Her performance in the debate will give her the confidence to deal with these public perceptions better than was the case before the debate. The total disarray within the Republican Party that is so disunited that it cannot even agree to elect a new Speaker to replace John Boehner will no doubt help. When the moderator, CNN's Anderson Cooper, asked how she would be different from President Obama as President, Hillary Clinton, who with the rest of the candidates owned the achievements of the President proudly in the debate, said she would be a woman! America may in fact be moving towards electing its first-ever woman President.

The writer is a retired Ambassador. [email protected]