If recent polls were any worries for Hillary Clinton, the sixth presidential debate among Republican hopefuls should wipe out every bit of them.
For all but two of the seven top contenders for the Republican ticket who featured in the Jan. 14 debate in North Charleston, South Carolina, the former first lady from the rival Democratic Party is the one they will have to beat, if they win the party nomination for the White House.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich went as far as to even hold out a “promise” that Clinton’s only potential rival Bernie Sanders was not going to be in the line to be the next president of the United States.
Asked about Sanders as the Democratic nominee, Kasich replied his nomination would win every state for the Republicans. “But look, and I know Bernie, and I can promise you he’s not going to be president of the United States.”
This was one of only a few times Sanders’ name even featured in the nearly two-hour debate at South Carolina that came just little over two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
Rivals from his party – Texas Senator Ted Cruz, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and former Florida governor Jeb Bush – seemed to share his assessment about Sanders, leaving Clinton in the ring.
“…You cannot give Hillary Clinton a third term of Barack Obama’s leadership,” retorted Christie while criticizing Obama’s handling of foreign policy issues, particularly mentioning the nuclear deal with Iran. “I will not do that. If I’m the nominee, she won’t get within 10 miles of the White House.”
Bush went a step further to declare that Clinton would be a “national security disaster”. Bush along with Rubio, Christie and Kasich are the four mainstream conservatives who are hoping front-runner Donald Cruz and Ted Cruz – both seen as representing the anti-establishment anger — will lose esteem on the way to Nov.2016 polls.
Rubio also seemed convinced that, if given a chance to have a go at the White House, Clinton would be the Democratic stumbling block. “She wouldn’t just be a disaster,” said the first-term Senator expanding Bush’ assertion a little further, “Hillary Clinton is disqualified from being commander in chief of the United States”.
For Cruz, another first-term Senator, the question raised over his eligibility to run for the top office was also somewhat linked to Clinton. Trump has in recent days raised the issue that being born in Canada, Cruz doesn’t qualify for the post.
To support his assertion, Trump at the debate cited Larry Tribe, a Harvard University Profession who has suggested that Cruz’s matter of eligibility is an unresolved legal matter and could block his way to presidency.
“Let me tell you who Larry Tribe is. He’s a left-wing judicial activist…He’s a major Hillary Clinton supporter, and there’s a reason why Hillary’s supporters are echoing Donald’s attacks on me because,” Cruz said, Hillary wants to face Trump in the general election.
While all the leading names in the Republican race see Clinton as their ultimate rival, the race for the former Secretary of State, who faced Obama in the one-on-one presidential nomination contest – is far from over.
If national polls are any indications, Clinton is losing ground to Sanders, raising doubts about her prospects of being the “inevitable nominee” for the party.
A report on the Fox.com posted Jan. 15 said “Sanders gaining ground on Clinton, in echoes of 2008,” a reference to her contest with Obama in 2008 where she was going great gun before surrendering to the incumbent president.
The report, citing the Real Clear Politics polls, said Clinton’s solid lead in Iowa, the first state in the line-up for voting, is dwindling with just a four-point lead. In New Hampshire, the next state, a Fox News Poll released last week showed Sanders leading Clinton by 13 points margin. This is quantum leap when compared with a similar poll in November when Sanders was only one point ahead.
Sanders, a little-known Vermont Senator until now, was polling below five percent at the time of his announcement to run for the president, way behind Clinton who was at the time above 60 percent. Martin O’Malley, a former Maryland Governor and third in the Democratic race, is a long shot.
