Clinton and Sanders Prepare for Debate, and a New Phase in the Democratic Race

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/32899-clinton-and-sanders-prepare-for-debate-and-a-new-phase-in-the-democratic-race

No one, however, expected a 74-year-old senator from tiny Vermont to emerge at this point as her strongest challenger. Not the party's wise men and women, not Clinton strategists. Not even the self-described Democratic socialist himself.

But Bernie Sanders' stunning fundraising success — his $26-million haul nearly matched Clinton's money machine over the summer — and his continuing capacity to draw huge crowds, including 13,000 Friday night in Tucson, seem to ensure he will stick around for months to come and, even if he falls short of the nomination, push Clinton and fellow Democrats in his leftward direction.

In recent weeks, Clinton has staked a number of positions that narrowed the gap between the two: opposing the Keystone XL pipeline, proposing tougher regulation of Wall Street, rejecting a trade deal she helped negotiate with Asian countries and calling for the repeal of a federal tax on high-end healthcare plans.

Clinton may have come to those positions of her own volition, but her timing ahead of Tuesday's first Democratic debate appears to be no accident, just as her increased willingness to take on Sanders, albeit obliquely, hardly seems coincidental.