Monocle 24: Should Clinton Be Worried As Iowa Approaches?

PHOTO: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in Sunday’s Democratic debate

Following Sunday night’s debate among Democratic contenders for the Presidency, I spoke with Monocle 24’s The Briefing this afternoon about the state of the race — in particular, whether Hillary Clinton should be worried about a surge in support for Senator Bernie Sanders before the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire:

Q: Was last night the moment that Hillary realized that Bernie Sanders is a real rival and she needs to put him down?

A: No.

Listen from 12:40:

The Sanders phenomenon is predictable. I welcome it. I think he’s a fresh voice in American politics, and he’s needed.

He will do well in the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. But once you get into the larger states and a lot of primaries at one time, that’s when the machine rolls into action.

You’ll see everybody welcoming Sanders bringing a bit of life into the campaign, but then you’ll see everyone rally behind Clinton.

The conversation closes with a look at how polarized US politics could be if that prediction is faulty: “Can you imagine a Sanders v. Trump contest in November?”