--- description: Hillary Clinton emerged from the first Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night having given no ground to Bernie Sanders title: Hillary Clinton Takes Control in First Democratic Debate image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17feeae4a7fde23f/69886830524fc0414adf5001/f1eb0af9258a484185a4b1275ee5fe49-0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hillary Clinton Takes Control in First Democratic Debate by [Sam Frizell / Las Vegas](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell / Las Vegas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 12:35 AM CUTPublished: Oct 13, 2015 6:44 PM CUT  Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during the CNN Democratic presidential debate, on Oct. 13, 2015, in Las Vegas. Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during the CNN Democratic presidential debate, on Oct. 13, 2015, in Las Vegas.John Locher—AP by [Sam Frizell / Las Vegas](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell / Las Vegas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 12:35 AM CUTPublished: Oct 13, 2015 6:44 PM CUT Hillary Clinton emerged from the first Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night having given no ground to Bernie Sanders or her lesser-known rivals, a strong performance that was punctuated when even [Sanders came to her defense over the email controversy](http://time.com/4072613/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-email/ "undefined") that has often buffeted her campaign. “I’ve taken responsibility for it. I did say it was a mistake,” Clinton said of her use of a personal email server during her time as Secretary of State. “I have been as transparent as I know to be.” Sanders, in a made-for-TV moment that took place not long after the two had tangled on [gun control](http://time.com/4071365/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders/ "undefined") and [economic issues](http://time.com/4072583/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-capitalism/ "undefined"), defended her: “Let me say something that may not be great politics, that is the Secretary is right. The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!” As the audience at the Wynn Las Vegas resort-casino here rose for a standing ovation, Clinton said with a laugh: “Thank you, Bernie!” It was a high moment of the night for Clinton but not her only one. Eager to assuage nervous supporters in the face of a surprisingly strong challenge from Sanders, Clinton [defended herself against charges of flip-flopping](http://time.com/4072574/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-cnn-flip-flop/ "undefined"), drew sharp differences between herself and Sanders on a small set of key issues, and generally controlled the flow of the debate. She mostly ignored her lesser-known rivals: Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee. When Chafee knocked her on the email issue and Clinton was asked if she wanted to respond, she said simply, “no.” But when asked by CNN moderator Anderson Cooper whether Sanders has done enough to combat gun violence, Clinton answered forcefully. “No,” she said. “Not at all. We have to look at the 90 people we lose a day from gun violence.” “The majority of our country supports background checks,” she added. “Even a majority of gun owners do. … Senator Sanders votes against the Brady Bill five times.” She also strongly criticized Sanders for voting in favor of legislation that shielded the gun industry from legal liability, saying she voted against it. “It wasn’t that complicated to me,” Clinton said. Sanders, meanwhile, mostly leaned on his usual stump speech talking points early, and he often dodged questions about his viability, as a self-identified Democratic socialist, in a general election. He declined to say he is a capitalist when asked directly by Cooper. “Do I consider myself part of the casino capitalist process by which so few have so much and so many have so little?” he responded. “By which Wall Street greed and recklessness wrecked this economy? No I don’t.” He then said he admired the economies of Sweden and Denmark. Clinton jumped in, saying: “When I think about capitalism I think about all the business that were started because we have the opportunity and the freedom to do just that.” She praised the opportunity and strong middle class afforded by the American capitalist system. “We are not Denmark,” she said. “I love Denmark. We are the United States of America.” ### See Hillary Clinton's Evolution in 20 Photos  Teenager: Hillary Rodham poses in her 1965 senior class portrait from Park Ridge East High School in Illinois. AP  Law School Student: Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham pose for a snapshot at Yale Law School in 1972\. They married in 1975. Clinton Presidential Library  Mother: Clinton poses with her husband, Bill, then in his first term as governor, with their week-old daughter, Chelsea, on March 5, 1980. Donald R. Broyles—AP  Campaign Companion: Clinton celebrates her husband's victory in a Democratic runoff in Little Rock, Ark. on June 8, 1982. AP  Arkansas First Lady: Clinton is seen in her inaugural ball gown in 1985. A. Lynn—AP  Political Wife: Clinton celebrates her husband's inauguration in Little Rock on Sept. 20, 1991. Danny Johnston—AP  Dignitary: Clinton receives an honorary law degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., on May 30, 1992. Chris Ocken—AP  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a meeting during the presidential campaign for her husband in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 4, 1992. Bill Sikes—AP  First Lady: Clinton appears at the MTV Inauguration Ball at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 20, 1993. Shayna Brennan—AP  Second-Term First Lady: Clinton attends the Inaugural Ball after her husband was sworn in to a second term on Jan. 20, 1997. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  New York Senator: Clinton speaks at a press conference with female Democratic senators in Washington on June 21, 2006. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Committee Member: Clinton listens to the testimony of Lt. General David Petraeus to the Senate Armed Forces Committee at a hearing on Capital Hill in Washington on Jan. 23, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Candidate: Clinton holds a a campaign event in Portsmouth, N.H., while running for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 2, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Jan. 2, 2008. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Secretary of State: Clinton kisses President Obama at a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 24, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton joins Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Dec. 3, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Jan. 23, 2013. J. Scott Applewhite—AP  Author: Clinton attends a signing memoir, "Hard Choices," at a Costco in Arlington, Va., on June 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Grandmother: Clinton holds her granddaughter Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on Sept. 27, 2014. Office of President Clinton/AP  Once and Future Candidate: Clinton speaks at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, on Sept. 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis All of the candidates and their campaigns approached the debate as an introduction of sorts. Americans already knew Hillary Clinton, the front-runner of the pack, but her campaign believed she deserved a big stage after months of her poll numbers withering under the email controversy. And for Sanders, [O’Malley, Chafee and Webb](http://time.com/4070231/democratic-debate-jim-webb-lincoln-chafee/ "undefined"), it was a rare chance to impress a national audience. For Clinton, the key was to cut through months of noise about her emails and trustworthiness, and present herself just as campaign bills her: the concerned fighter who will work hard for everyday Americans. “She came into the race with universally high favorability ratings among Democrats, and then she had a rough summer,” said Mo Elleithee, a veteran of Clinton’s 2008 campaign. “This is an opportunity for her to remind people what they liked and still like about her.” It is a motley crew of Democrats. Sanders was not a Democrat until five months ago. Webb is a Vietnam War veteran and one-term senator who has been almost entirely absent from the campaign trail. Chafee is a mild-mannered former Republican who left his governorship in Rhode Island after one term with a 26% approval rating. O’Malley is an accomplished politician who has been laying the groundwork for his presidential run for years but languishes at close to zero in the polls. ### See Bernie Sanders' Career in Photographs  Bernie Sanders (R), member of the steering committee, stands next to George Beadle, University of Chicago president, who is speaking at a Committee On Racial Equality meeting on housing sit-ins. 1962. Special Collections Research Center/University of Chicago Library  A photo taken on July 22, 2015 of Bernie Sanders and his son is seen in an old clip from an alternative newspaper called the Vermont Freeman in Burlington, VT. The Washington Post/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders in his office after winning his first election as the mayor of Burlington, Vt. on Sept. 15, 1981. Donna Light—AP  Bernie Sanders, right, greeted voters at a Burlington polling place on March 1, 1983 in Burlington, Vt. Donna Light—AP  Bernie Sanders and his campaign celebrating after his mayoral re-election circa 1983 in Burlington, Vt. Courtesy of Bernie Sanders Campaign  Bernie Sanders recording his singing in a studio Nov. 20, 1987 in Burlington, Vt. Toby Talbot—AP  Bernie Sanders and his wife Jane O'Meara in Washington circa 1991. Courtesy of Bernie Sanders Campaign  Bernie Sanders, James Jeffords and Patrick Leahy toast to the passing of the Northeast Dairy Compact on June 14, 2006 in Montpelier, Vt. Toby Talbot—AP  Bernie Sanders officially announces his candidacy for U.S. Senate on May 19, 2006, at the Unitarian Church in Burlington, Vt. Alden Pelett—AP  Bernie Sanders and the other members of the Vermont Congressional delegation at the annual lighting of U.S. Capitol Christmas on Dec. 5, 2007 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks during a rally in support of Social Security with Sen. Tom Harkin and Bernie Sanders on March 28, 2011 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  Rep. Steve Cohen and Bernie Sanders attend a rally near the reflection pool, held by 350.org to protest the amount of money members of Congress receive from the fossil fuel industry on Jan. 24, 2012. Tom Williams—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders at the signing ceremony of Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act on Aug. 7, 2014 in Belvoir, Va. Alex Wong—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders waits to speak at a rally to advocate for an increase in pay to $15 USD per hour, as part of a "Fight for $15" labor effort on April 22, 2015 in Washington. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders shakes Colleen Green's hand as he leaves a town hall meeting on May 11, 2015\. in Charlottesville, Va. Jay Paul— Reuters  Bernie Sanders kisses his wife, Jane O'Meara, before officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park May 26, 2015 in Burlington, Vt. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders delivers remarks at a town meeting at the South Church May 27, 2015 in Portsmouth, N.H. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders speaks during a news conference to discuss legislation to restore pension guarantees for thousands of retired union workers on June 18, 2015 in Washington. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders kisses his wife Jane O'Meara during a campaign event on Aug. 10, 2015 in Los Angeles. Bloomberg/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders speaks to a primarily Latino audience during a campaign stop at the Muscatine Boxing Club on Sept. 4, 2015 in Muscatine, Iowa. Bloomberg/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders and Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, listen to a prayer during a Liberty University Convocation on Sept. 14, 2015 in Lynchburg, Va. Bloomberg/Getty Images  Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, right, and his wife Jane O’Meara, wave to the crowd as he is announced onstage to speak to supporters during a campaign rally on Sept. 14, 2015 in Manassas, Va. Cliff Owen—AP  Bernie Sanders joins Cornell William Brooks in a march with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on Sept. 15, 2015 from Selma, Ala. to Washington. 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