LOC10:03
07:03 GMT
WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (KUNA) -- The two leading candidates for the US Democratic presidential nomination painted a clear choice for voters on Monday night at Iowa town hall.
The self-described democratic socialist from Vermont Bermie Sanders, called for a political revolution with his left-wing plans on health insurance, Wall Street, taxes and wages.
The former New York senator and former secretary of State Hilary Clinton, presented herself as a centrist who would make changes by working incrementally within the system, and consistently steered her remarks to highlight her vast political experience in domestic and foreign affairs.
With only a week before the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, Clinton has a six percentage point lead over Sanders in Iowa, according to a new poll.
The FOX News survey shows Clinton with 48 percent support to Sanders' 42 percent, while former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley was at three percent.
During the town hall, Clinton, aged 68, used her performance last fall in the House Benghazi hearings as proof that she is willing to work with Republicans. Knowing that many Democrats admired her performance, she said she fared pretty well.
"My best defense is the truth, and that is what you will hear from now until I am president," she said.
Meanwhile, Sanders, aged 74, tried to get Democratic voters to question Clintonآ’s judgment, particularly on her 2002 vote to authorize the Iraq War.
She dismissed that argument by calling attention to the fact that President Barack Obama chose her as his secretary of state. "He trusted my judgment," Clinton said. Pointing again to her experience, she said that the "American people have seen me exercising judgment in a lot of other ways."
On his part, Sanders acknowledged that his single-payer health care plan would raise taxes. "We will raise taxes, yes we will," Sanders said in an admission that few US politicians will make. But he went on to say that a focus on taxes misses the point, because his plan would reduce health insurance premiums by more than it would raise taxes.
Sanders said that although he believed Clinton or Oآ’Malley were good candidates, the country needs more. "It just seems to me that the problems we have are so serious that we have got to go beyond establishment politics and establishment economics," he said.
The town hall was hosted by the Iowa Democratic Party and Drake University and broadcast on CNN.
After the February 1st Iowa caucuses comes the first primary on February 9 in New Hampshire, where Sanders remains the front runner with a 56 percent to 34 percent advantage over Clinton, according to a FOX News poll.(end)
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