MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — Former President Bill Clinton did not keep up attacks against Sen. Bernie Sanders Friday as his wife, Hillary Clinton, continues to struggle in Iowa with only 17 days until the caucuses.
Clinton, who was making the second of three stops on the day, didn’t mention the Vermont socialist’s name once during the 43-minute long event, during which he spoke at length about his 45 years with his wife.
The decision against going after Sanders comes only days after both Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton leveled attacks against Sanders over his 2005 vote to give protection to gun manufacturers and his call for a single-payer healthcare system.
Rather, the 42nd president saved his attacks for those fighting on the Republican side, less than 24 hours after Thursday’s GOP debate in Charleston, S.C.
“I’m proud to be a member of my party when I look at the Republican base, because they seem to be living in a universe I don’t live in,” Clinton told the crowd of 270, who waited for over an hour to hear Clinton speak after he was delayed coming in from Sioux City after his first of Friday’s events.
“People are anxiety driven. A lot of them are still angry about what happened in the crash, even though the president avoided a depression and saved the auto industry … because the incomes are just not there,” Clinton said, adding that most of the gains since then have gone to the wealthy. “They’re angry and they’re anxious but we still need to live in a reality-based world. And we’ve still got to walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Meanwhile, Clinton supporters are not all that worried about the threat posed by Sanders, with the main concern being on the opposite side of the aisle as the Republican race continues to heat up.
“You know, it’s a primary. Everybody’s going to try to win the primary, so that’s what you do,” said Edgar Ortiz, 40, of Des Moines who plans to caucus for Clinton. “Everybody like Bernie Sanders, [Martin O’Malley] and Hillary — one thing I understand is no matter what, all of those three candidates are way better than a Republican candidates. They’re great candidates.”
However, there are some that are wary of Sanders’ recent surge in the polls, with him only trailing the former secretary of state by four points according to the latest RealClearPolitics average. As recently as Christmas, Clinton held a 15-point lead over Sanders in the polling average.
“I’m not comfortable with Bernie because he’s an independent. He’s running as a Democrat and he’s still an independent,” said John Meyer, 66, of Tama. “I don’t think there’s any way he can pay for all the stuff he wants to do. With the atmosphere in Washington, D.C., I don’t think there’s anything he can do because it’s so mean-spirited out there … Even if he were to get elected, what would he be able to do?”
“I think you have to after [Bernie] a little bit,” Meyer continued. “I don’t think it’s a negative to tell people what you feel that he’s going to do. I think it’s negative. I think if they have the wrong idea about what he’s going to do, then maybe he should clarify what he’s going to do and just exactly how he’s going to do it and how he’s going to pay for all this stuff.”
Clinton rounds out his day with an event in Coralville before a trio of campaign events in the Hawkeye State on Saturday, the last of which will feature both President Clinton and Chelsea. Hillary Clinton is set to return to Iowa Monday evening with an event in Toledo.
