Clinton, Sanders face off in first one-on-one debate of Democratic race

Democrat Hillary Clinton went on the attack against rival Bernie Sanders on Thursday in their most contentious presidential debate yet, questioning whether his ambitious proposals were viable and accusing him of an “artful smear” in suggesting she could be bought by political donations.

Sanders fought back repeatedly, questioning Clinton's progressive credentials and portraying her as a creature of the political establishment in a debate that featured heated exchanges on healthcare, college tuition funding and efforts to rein in Wall Street.

The two Democrats kept up a markedly more contentious tone than when they last debated before the presidential voting in Iowa, and it signaled how the race for the nomination has tightened five days ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire next Tuesday.

One of Clinton's most forceful remarks came in response to a suggestion by Sanders that she could be influenced by political donations by Wall Street.

“Enough is enough. If you've got something to say, say it directly,” she said Thursday night. “But you will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donation that I ever received.

“So I think it's time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out,” she said.

Asked if she would release transcripts of her paid speeches to Wall Street interests and others, Clinton was noncommittal, saying “I'll look into it.” She had struggled a day earlier to explain why she accepted $675,000 from Goldman Sachs for speeches.

Sanders, for his part, suggested her loyalties were colored by a reliance on big corporate donors.

“Secretary Clinton does represent the establishment,” he said. “I represent — I hope — ordinary Americans.”

Clinton may say the right things, he suggested, but “one of the things we should do is not only talk the talk but walk the walk.”

“I am very proud to be the only candidate up here who does not have super PAC, who's not raising huge sums from Wall Street and special interests,” he said, referring to outside groups who can receive unlimited funds to support candidates.

Clinton, unwilling to cede the issue to Sanders, insisted her regulatory policies would be tougher on Wall Street than his.

“I've got their number," she said, "the Wall Street guys.”

Where Clinton aimed considerable criticism at Sanders, the Vermont senator focused much of his fire on what he says is a political system rigged against ordinary Americans.

He said that when a “kid gets caught with marijuana, that kid has a police record.” But when “a Wall Street executive destroys the economy" and pays a $5 billion settlement, he has "no criminal record.”

“That is what power is about, that is what corruption is about. And that is what has to change in the United States of America,” he said.

Clinton called Sanders' sweeping proposals on health care and education “just not achievable.”

Clinton charged that Sanders' proposal for single-payer universal healthcare coverage would jeopardize Obamacare, calling it “a great mistake,” and said his plans for free college education would be too costly to be realistic.

“I can get things done. I'm not making promises I can't keep,” Clinton said.

Sanders said he would not dismantle Obamacare but would expand it, pointing to the many other countries that provide universal healthcare. Sanders countered that Clinton was willing to settle for less than Americans deserve.

“I do not accept the belief that the United States of America can’t do that,” Sanders said. “By moving forward, rallying the American people, I do believe we should have healthcare for all.”

Sanders said his proposal for free tuition at public universities would be paid with a tax on Wall Street speculation. “The middle class bailed out Wall Street in their time of need. Now, it is Wall Street's time to help the middle class,” he said.

The race for the Democratic nomination, once seen as a sure thing for Clinton, intensified this week after Sanders held the former secretary of state to a whisper-thin margin of victory in Iowa's leadoff caucuses. The Durham debate will be the first faceoff for Clinton and Sanders since former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley dropped out of the race after a poor showing in Iowa.

The tone of the back-and-forth between Clinton and Sanders has become increasingly sharp, and the candidates agreed to add four more debates to the primary season schedule, including Thursday's faceoff in Durham.

The debate is the last before Tuesday, and Sanders holds a big lead in polls in the state.

In fresh evidence of the tightening race, Clinton reported that her campaign had raised $15 million in January — $5 million less than Sanders and the first time she's been outraised by her opponent. Her finance director called the numbers “a very loud wake-up call” in a fundraising email to supporters.

Heading into the debate, Sanders was eager to lower expectations for his finish in New Hampshire, casting himself as an underdog against “the most powerful political organization in the country.”

Clinton, for her part, signaled her determination to at least narrow the gap before Tuesday's vote in the state where her husband in 1992 placed second and styled himself the “Comeback Kid.” Her prospects are much stronger in primaries and caucuses after New Hampshire, as the race moves on to states with more diverse electorates that are to her advantage.

The two renewed their running debate over who is the real progressive, with Clinton accusing Sanders of quoting her selectively to diminish her credentials.

On foreign policy, Sanders renewed his criticism of Clinton for her vote as a senator to authorize the war in Iraq, a vote she later said was a mistake.

Clinton retorted: “A vote in 2002 is not a plan to defeat ISIS. We have to look at the threats that we face right now.”

Sanders allowed that while Clinton had been secretary of state, “experience is not the only point. Judgment is.”

On a nagging issue, Clinton was asked if she was sure nothing problematic would come of the ongoing investigation into her use of a private email account and server to handle official messages when she was secretary of state, some of them later classified as top secret.

“I am 100 percent confident,” she said.

The two campaigns have even skirmished this week over why Sanders is doing so well in New Hampshire polls. His campaign accused Clinton's of insulting New Hampshire voters by suggesting they only support the Vermont senator because he's from a neighboring state. That was after Clinton's campaign manager referred to New Hampshire as Sanders' “backyard.”

Clinton's campaign also criticized Sanders' camp for what it said were misleading ads that suggest the senator received the endorsement of two newspapers that have not backed his bid for the White House. Sanders countered that the ads didn't say he'd been endorsed but merely passed along “nice” words the newspapers had written about him.

On a broader issue, Clinton offers herself to voters as “a progressive who gets things done,” part of her pitch that she's the one with the practical skills to implement a progressive agenda.

Sanders' counter-argument is that it will take a “political revolution“ to achieve goals such as universal health care, a fairer tax system and an incorruptible campaign finance system.

Asked this week if Clinton is a progressive, he said: “Some days, yes. Except when she announces that she is a proud moderate. Then I guess she is not a progressive.”

Sanders added that it is hard to take on the establishment “when you become as dependent as she has through her super PAC and in other ways on Wall Street or drug company money.”

Wire services