Just before the first Democratic presidential primary debate wrapped up Tuesday night, NBC “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd proclaimed Hillary Clinton the runaway winner.
“Clinton was easily the most polished and prepped candidate on stage,” Todd wrote on Twitter. “Wasn’t even close. But [Bernie] Sanders isn’t going anywhere.”
Moderator Anderson Cooper opened the debate, hosted by CNN in Las Vegas, with an aggressive set of questions for Clinton on whether she would “do anything to get elected,” referring to several positions she has shifted on.
She attempted to explain that over time she had “absorb[ed] new information” and shifted policy positions accordingly.
Probably the loudest applause line, however, went to Bernie Sanders when he defended Clinton from a question about the email scandal that has so-far engulfed the former secretary of State’s campaign.
“[T]he American people are tired of hearing about your damn emails,” Sanders said, leading to a standing ovation.
Clinton is currently the frontrunner to win the Democratic nomination but Sanders, campaigning on a populist liberal economic message, has narrowed the gap in both national and early primary state-level polls.
Martin O’Malley, Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb were also on the debate stage but have thus far found themselves unable to break out of single-digit poll numbers.
