
Clinton Gets Lift from Sanders on E-mail Controversy at #DemDebate
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Hillary Clinton was ready with an answer to the inevitable e-mail server question at the Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night, but it was Bernie Sanders who delivered the better -- Smore popular -- zinger.
Clinton offered a long, well-prepared response a question regarding her use of her personal e-mail account during her tenure as Secretary of State in the Obama administration, calling the investigation a partisan political exercises and reiterating her stance that she had been involved in no wrongdoing.
Her conclusion sounded strong, but well-rehearsed. "Tonight, I want to talk not about my e-mails but about what the American people want from the next president of the United States," she said.
That response gave Sanders an opening for his own retort: "The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails."
The audience burst into applause and laughter, with Clinton joining in the mirth. It was, in fact, a line Clinton probably wished she could deploy herself.
Politico Tuesday delved into the e-mail server scandal that has dogged Clinton's campaign for months. "It sounds crazy, but I think she simply wasn't equipped to deal with this," one long-time Clinton ally told the publication.
The Politico piece also reported on a conversation between Clinton and a supporter in which the former Secretary of State admitted the email controversy was one of two main problems she is having in her campaign. "On the one hand, I feel like I'm rolling out a lot of substantive programs on issues that people care about. We're getting one day's news coverage. But there's nothing larger knitting it together. We're not breaking through," she said. "And my team needs to get their act together on the email response."
The debate gave Clinton an opportunity to shift the conversation. But Sanders may have done the heavy lifting.
In an email sent out during the debate, the Sanders campaign tried to capitalize, writing:
Here's the whole exchange:
"This campaign should be about the grotesque levels of income and wealth inequality in our country, the unprecedented planetary emergency of our changing climate, and our need to invest in jobs and education, not jails and incarceration. He got the biggest applause of the night.
"We clipped the video and needed to share it with you immediately. Watch it right now, and if you're as fired up as we are about how things are going, make a contribution of $23.81 -- the average donation made to our campaign during the debate - before Bernie steps off the stage."
Sanders himself wasn't motivated by money.
When asked after the debate about its most exciting moment, the candidate said, "People want substantive discussions on substantive issues."
This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.








