Hillary Clinton was judged the winner of the first US Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night as closest rival, Bernie Sanders, handed her a gift in dismissing the private email controversy that has hurt her campaign.
The debate pitted the two candidates leading in the polls, Mrs Clinton, a second-time presidential contender, and Mr Sanders, the socialist senator for Vermont, against each other for the first time.
The sharpest exchanges were between the two as Mr Sanders has overtaken Ms Clinton or eaten into her lead in key early voting states.
The event, hosted by CNN in a Las Vegas casino, gave three lesser known contenders, former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley, former Virginia senator Jim Webb and former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, a chance to improve their poor showing in the polls.
Only Mr O’Malley scored any points in the debate with some strong comments on his progressive record on gun controls.
The debate was also notable for the absence of vice president Joe Biden who is still mulling whether to launch a third presidential bid.
While the debate was a platform to allow the low-polling candidates to gain much-needed profile, the spotlight was very much on the two main contenders.
Mrs Clinton attacked Sanders early in the debate, challenging the Brooklyn politician on his record on gun violence, a major talking-point issue since the latest US mass shooting at a school in rural Oregon.
She lambasted the 74-year-old independent senator for his opposition to gun control, noting that he voted against the 1993 Brady Bill that established mandatory background checks on gun purchases.
Asked whether Mr Sanders had done enough to support gun control reform, the former secretary of state said: “No, not at all,” in a response that surprised the Vermont senator.
She appeared equally startled when Mr Sanders came to her defence on her use of a private email address for official government business as Barack Obama’s first secretary of state, a controversy she has responded to badly.
“The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails,” he said.
The remark brought a laugh and wide smile from Ms Clinton. Expressing frustration at the attention on her emails, Mr Sanders said there was not enough focus on real issues in the 2016 campaign.
“Enough of the emails!” he demanded in comments that led to the two rival candidates to share a handshake and a laugh on stage.
The senator’s campaign team were quick to use the unusual moment of bonhomie by sending out fundraising emails on the back of it.
During the debate, Ms Clinton acknowledged again that her use of a private email server was “a mistake” and “wasn’t the best choice.”
Mr Sanders is drawing large crowds at rallies with his opposition to the “billionaire class” and with a populist manifesto that includes raising the minimum wage and imposing higher taxes on the rich.
Ms Clinton attacked the House of Representatives committee investigating the 2012 attacks on the US outpost in Benghazi, Libya under her watch at the State Department that killed four Americans.
Describing the investigation as “partisan,” she called the committee “an arm of the Republican National Committee,” referring to recent comments by a House Republican majority leader Kevin McCarthy that the committee was set up to hurt her standing in the polls.
Asked by CNN host Anderson Cooper about shifting position on issues such as same-sex marriage and trade deals, Ms Clinton denied that she was taking positions on issues just to get elected, rejecting criticism that she was moving left to win the Democratic nomination.
“I’m a progressive, but I’m a progressive who likes to get things done,” said Ms Clinton in a side-swipe at Mr Sanders whose policies are criticised for not being pragmatic enough.
Clashing on the issue of capitalism, Mr Sanders said that he did not consider himself “part of the casino capitalist process” and said that he admired the left-leaning economies in Sweden and Denmark.
Mrs Clinton jumped in, praising the opportunities that capitalism brought with business and warning that the US would make “a grave mistake” to turn its back on “what made the greatest middle class”.
“We are not Denmark,” said Mrs Clinton. “I love Denmark. We are the United States of America.”
The former first lady put in a polished and confident performance, showing her experience, including from her failed 2008 presidential bid when she was beaten by Mr Obama, and her skill as a debater.
While Mr Sanders said many things that will appeal to the grassroots Left in the debate, he spoke mostly to his progressive base in the debate.
Mrs Clinton, in contrast, framed her remarks more widely, showing her broader appeal as the party’s nominee in the November 2016 election and confirming her frontrunner status in the Democratic race.
