2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumIn debate after Paris attacks, Clinton earns the advantage on foreign policy
As a former senator and secretary of State, Clinton spoke with fluency about the contradictory puzzle and complicated players in the Middle East, and the tensions there that already have spilled into violence on the European continent. She recounted her experience helping downtown New York recover from the Sept. 11, 2001, attack (weirdly, however, it was in response to a criticism of her closeness with Wall Street donors).
When asked to recount a crisis that had tested her, she dramatically retold the story of advising President Obama to go after Osama bin Laden in 2011 despite concerns by many in the administration that the mission could fail. And, she noted, she offered the advice without consulting anyone, even her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
It was that question, more than any other, that demonstrated Clintons advantage once the focus turned to foreign policy. By contrast, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley recounted the daily tribulations of a mayor and state executive, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders told of a veterans' bill, one in which he was not successful in achieving his initial goal and had to negotiate a compromise.
Indeed, discomfort on the part of Sanders and O'Malley was palpable from the start. After a moment of silence for the victims in Paris, the candidates moved to opening statements. Speaking before Clinton, Sanders jumped quickly into his familiar arguments about a "rigged economy," a "corrupt campaign finance system" and the need for millions of Americans to stand and say that "enough is enough."
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-prez-clinton-democratic-debate-foreign-policy-strength-20151115-story.html
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