Hillary, Sanders clash over policy issues

Democratic presidential aspirants Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clashed on the debating stage on Sunday night on economy, race relations, global trade, gun control, climate change, criminal justice system and campaign finance, with sharp exchanges and retorts, but there were some agreements too.

The debate took place in Flint, Michigan, an African American neighbourhood that recently discovered that its water distribution system had been poisoned by corroding lead pipes.

Mr. Sanders and Ms. Clinton were in agreement that their debate was in sharp contrast with the Republican debate last week, in which candidates talked little policy, exchanged insults and fought over their own anatomies.

“We are, if elected president, going to invest a lot of money into mental health. And when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in mental health,” Mr. Sanders said, even as Ms. Clinton heartily laughed.

Ms. Clinton maintains a



comfortable lead in the nomination race nationally over Mr. Sanders, who pointed out that opinion polls showed him better placed to beat the Republicans than Ms. Clinton. Just as the debate was on, Mr. Sanders won the Democratic caucuses in Maine.

A discussion on climate change led to some heated exchanges between Ms. Clinton and Mr. Sanders.

Mr. Sanders and Ms. Clinton also explained their religious faith in response to questions from the moderator. Mr. Sanders said the essence of all religions was, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ “I am very proud to be Jewish, and being Jewish is so much of what I am,” he said, rejecting the criticism that he was muted about his religious identity.

Ms. Clinton said she prayed for people she knows and those going through difficult periods in their lives. “I pray for the will of God to be known so that we can know it and to the best of our limited ability try to follow it and fulfill it.”