Clinton v Sanders: The Battle Begins

In the last few days it seems Hillary Clinton's campaign may be reaching a bumpy spot due to Bernie's new popularity.

With primaries slowly approaching, candidates are focusing on the two first states to vote: Iowa and New Hampshire. Both democratic candidates seem to be upping their game in these states with speeches and brochures galore.                                                         

For a minute there, we all thought that Hillary had wrapped up this primary, right? Well, it's possible we were wrong. Bernie has touched the hearts of many people in both Iowa and New Hampshire, and his poll ratings (shown below) show a new fondness for him. Hillary promised us from the beginning that she was "in it to win it," and she is now attempting to protect her title as #1 by disparaging Bernie, especially on his gun control policy. She points out in the video below that he has voted for many bills protecting the NRA, which obviously seems very conservative. In a recent ad, she has highlighted this flaw as well as the fact that her opponent doesn't support Obama as much as she does, which hits close to home with Obama lovers.

Bernie isn't letting this go; in fact, he is pointing out her strong comebacks as an indication of her campaign failures (ABC). He has attacked Clinton back by pointing out her hesitance to expand social security and other issues. Both candidates are trying to up the heat at the point in the election and it isn't surprising that Hillary is trying to make herself seem like the most qualified person for the nomination. I also guess that Bernie isn't always as sweet as everyone thinks.

Video Worth Watching: Click Here

There is a a consistent pattern of supporters of both Bernie and Hillary worth pointing out here. Many younger democratic voters tend to support the more liberal Bernie while older democratic voters (over the age of 45) tend to support the more moderate democrat, Hillary (New York Times). However, many also believe that Hillary will ultimately win the nomination, since she has slightly higher polls and may seem to be the better choice for the presidency (New York Times).

I think that Hillary is right to campaign hard right before the primaries, even if trash-talking Bernie is involved. Nobody ever said politics was pretty, and she has every right to point out the weaknesses of her competition as he quickly catches up to her, as indicated by the Iowa Poll graph above. I guess we will soon see who is able to out campaign the other in the upcoming months. 

Questions:

1) Do you think that the excess attention Iowa and New Hampshire receive as the first primary vote is unfair? What are the benefits of this to candidates and why do you think that they focus so much on getting those first states?

2) Why do you think younger people tend to vote more liberal (Bernie) and older people more conservative (Hillary)? 

3) Do you think that Hillary has the right to bad mouth Bernie like this? She does still have the lead, is she overreacting or is this a necessary move?

Sources:

The New York Times: Click Here
The Washington Post (and video): Click Here
ABC News: Click Here
CNN: Click Here
Iowa Poll: Click Here