Live Coverage Of The First Democratic Debate

Clinton says she’ll go “beyond Obama” on reducing prescription drug costs, which is interesting because provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership that are friendly to the pharmaceutical industry are among the reasons she says she opposes President Obama’s signature trade deal. Health care has always been a key issue for Clinton. So far this election season, she’s taken on the high cost of prescription drugs and the “Cadillac” tax in Obamacare. She has the support of the people on drug costs: Nearly three-quarters of people in the U.S. think drug costs are unreasonably high and blame pharmaceutical companies for the prices, according to recent polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The Cadillac tax is the rare policy issue that Republicans and Democrats agree on, with legislators across the political spectrum calling for its repeal.

It’s really remarkable how unscathed Clinton has been tonight by the other candidates. She skated right past questions on Benghazi and her private email server, and on one of her most vulnerable issues — her vote to authorize the war in Iraq — she drew only indirect criticism from Sanders and Chafee, who missed a huge opportunity to draw a sharp contrast with her foreign policy. The moderators have tried to get the other candidates to rough her up, but about the best they’ve been able to do is get O’Malley to say that she may be a little too eager to use military force. Sanders supporters are likely to disagree with Clinton’s support for the Patriot Act, but instead of criticizing her directly for that vote, Sanders loosed a familiar broadside at government surveillance and did not link her to it. Clinton’s skills at debating are clearly evident tonight, but she has benefited most greatly from a decorousness by the other candidates that is rarely on display during Republican debates.