LAS VEGAS –With a smile and a handshake, Democratic presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton secured unexpected support from chief rival Bernie
Sanders over an email scandal during their first debate, helping to defuse an
issue that has dogged her campaign.

Sanders, a 74-year-old U.S. senator from Vermont came to her
rescue on Tuesday night as Clinton, 67, said she wanted to focus on more
pressing policy issues when questioned about a private email server she used as
U.S. secretary of state.

“Let me say something that may not be great politics, but I
think the secretary is right,” he said. “The American people are sick
and tired of hearing about your damn emails.”

“Thank you. Me too. Me too,” a beaming Clinton
responded shortly before turning to shake the hand of a smiling Sanders while
the crowd roared.

Shortly after that moment of warmth, however, Clinton and
Sanders clashed over their views about Wall Street, capitalism, gun control,
and U.S. policy on Syria in a surprisingly feisty first debate between candidates
who have largely steered clear of criticizing each other on the campaign trail.

Clinton, who has seen her lead over Sanders narrow during the
email controversy, delivered a smooth performance that could solidify her
status as front-runner and raise questions about the viability of a possible
candidacy by Vice President Joe Biden.

Trying to stem Sanders’ momentum and calm the worries of some
supporters about her slide in opinion polls, she aggressively drew sharp
contrasts with the self-described democratic socialist.

Clinton criticized his remark in the debate that the United
States should model its economy after European countries such as Denmark,
Sweden and Norway.

“I think what Senator Sanders is saying certainly makes
sense in the terms of the inequality that we have. But we are not
Denmark,” said Clinton, who described herself as a progressive but “a
progressive who likes to get things done.”

Sanders said he did not subscribe to the capitalist system.

“Do I consider myself part of the casino capitalist process by
which so few have so much and so many have so little, by which Wall Street’s
greed and recklessness wrecked this economy? No, I don’t,” he said.

Sanders also knocked the administration of President Bill
Clinton, the front-runner’s husband, for its deregulation of Wall Street in the
1990s.

“Congress does not regulate Wall Street. Wall Street
regulates Congress,” Sanders said critically.

Clinton said the United States needed to do more than focus its
fire on big banks.

“We have work to do. You’ll get no argument from me. But I
know if we don’t come in with a very tough and comprehensive approach, like the
plan I’m recommending, we’re going to be behind instead of ahead,” she
said.

CLASH OVER GUN CONTROL

The two candidates also clashed over gun violence, an
increasingly potent issue after repeated school shootings across the country.
Clinton said Sanders had not been tough enough on the issue, noting he voted
for a provision to free gun manufacturers from legal accountability.

“I voted against it. I was in the Senate at the same time.
It wasn’t that complicated to me,” she said. “We need to stand up and
say enough of that. We’re not going to let it continue.”

Sanders, noting he represents a rural state where many people
own guns, said he supported the expansion of background checks for people
wanting to buy guns and to scrap gaps in the law that make it easier to sell
and buy guns at gun shows.

The two leading candidates were joined by former Rhode Island
Governor Lincoln Chafee, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and former
U.S. Senator James Webb of Virginia in the first of six scheduled debates in
the race to be the party’s nominee in the November 2016 presidential election.

The lesser known candidates made veiled attacks on Clinton.
Chafee noted he had “no scandals” during his political career; Webb
said he was not co-opted by the political system.

Sanders’ “damn emails” statement was the top social
moment of the two-hour debate on Facebook and Sanders himself was the candidate
most discussed on the social media network, according to Andy Stone, a
spokesman for Facebook.

Clinton has said her email server in her New York State home was
used for convenience and not to skirt transparency laws. The Federal Bureau of
Investigation has taken the server and other computer hardware to determine
whether sensitive government information was mishandled in Clinton’s email
correspondence.

Chafee, who has been critical of Clinton in the context of the
emails, said it was important that the next president adhere to the best in
ethical standards. Asked by the moderator if she wanted to respond, Clinton
answered, to applause, with one word: “No.”

Biden, who is considering launching a run for the nomination,
was not on the stage but loomed in the background. Clinton took a veiled shot
at Biden by emphasizing her involvement in President Barack Obama’s decision to
authorize the raid that killed former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Clinton was in favor of the raid. Biden advised against it.

Late in the debate, the candidates were asked which enemy they
were most proud of making.

“Well, in addition to the NRA (National Rifle Association),
the health insurance companies, the drug companies, the Iranians, probably the
Republicans,” Clinton said to laughter from the audience.