Al Hilal advances to AFC Champions League knockout stage despite 1-1 draw with Al Sadd    Finance minister: All Vision 2030 projects have sustainable funding that won't affect public finances    Crown Prince announces medium-term debt strategy to diversify funding sources "A resilient economy capable of overcoming challenges reflects progress towards achieving Vision 2030 goals"    'No excuses' for Israel to not accept ceasefire deal, EU foreign policy chief says    Alkhorayef highlights role of National Initiative for Global Supply Chains in boosting Saudi economy    Saudi Arabia signs investment deals worth SR35bn with foreign firms to strengthen global supply chains    Saudi Arabia unveils updates on Expo 2030 Riyadh master plan at 175th BIE General Assembly Riyadh Expo Development Company established to oversee strategic planning, operations, and legacy development    Riyadh Season draws 8 million visitors in 6 weeks    Saudi FM attends Quadripartite meeting on Sudan in Italy    Gangsters block aid distribution in south Gaza    Russian deserter reveals war secrets of guarding nuclear base    Georgia's new parliament opens first session amid mass protests and boycott    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Cristiano Ronaldo's double powers Al Nassr to 3-1 win over Al Gharafa in AFC Champions League    Al Ahli edges Al Ain 2-1, bolsters perfect start in AFC Champions League Elite    Al-Falih: 1,238 foreign investors obtain premium residency in Saudi Arabia    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Democrats grapple with Trump effect as primary draws near
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 24 - 12 - 2015

Months of intense focus on the Republican race — and front-runner Donald Trump — have reverberated through the Democratic field, prompting front-runner Hillary Clinton to turn her attention to her would-be Republican challengers and leaving her chief rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, gasping for airtime.
Now, after spending weeks largely out of the spotlight, Clinton plans to intensify her campaign schedule from an almost incumbent-style effort to a more aggressive, first-timer approach.
With just six weeks left before the first round of primary voting, Clinton plans a series of multi-day swings through Iowa starting in January, interspersing trips there with stops in New Hampshire and other early voting states. Her campaign will also unveil what Clinton has called her "not-so-secret weapon," sending her husband, former President Bill Clinton, out to hit the stump after months of behind-the-scenes activity, wooing donors in private events.
And in a sign of the escalating battle between the two party front-runners, her campaign was forced to engage with Trump on Tuesday after he called."
Though Clinton leads Sanders in national polls by more than twenty percentage points, the numbers are much tighter in Iowa and New Hampshire, where the Vermont senator has an edge. The Sanders campaign believes victories in those two states would undercut Clinton's strength and send him into the next contests — in Southern and Western states where he's polling lower— with a boost of momentum and a path to victory in the nomination battle.
But Sanders is struggling to find his footing as the race has shifted away from his core economic message about income inequality to one of national security after terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California.
Clinton aides say they are taking nothing for granted in the upcoming contests.
In recent weeks, however, Clinton has spent far more time attacking Trump and her would-be Republican rivals than Sanders, demonstrating a growing confidence in her primary standing and increased focus on the general election. Democratic leaders believe that reminding their voters of whom they may be up against in November helps motivate their party in a primary that hasn't generated the excitement of the Republican field.
"I want him to talk every single day," Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said of Trump. "It's going to help propel our nominee to the White House."
For Clinton, going after Trump creates an opportunity to re-enter a political conversation that has largely moved away from the Democratic side and strike back at her Republican opponents, who are getting plenty of airtime to lob attacks not only at each other but Clinton as well.
"He's the leading Republican candidate but he's not really all that different from the other Republican candidates," said Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. "He heats things up more and that's not only outrageous but it's dangerous."
But even as Clinton and her party publicly slam Trump, they're quietly grappling with the question of how to target the Republican front-runner without discounting the feeling of insecurity he's tapped into in the electorate.
Between attacks on what she calls his bigoted rhetoric and proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US, Clinton has also begun telling voters that "it's OK to be afraid."
The lack of attention on the Democratic race has given Clinton a break from the intense scrutiny she faced in the summer, when much of the political conversation was focused on her use of a private email server as Secretary of State and the foreign financial ties of the Clinton Foundation, the non-profit started by her husband.
Her campaign has been able to use the lull to build up its operation, organize key states, promote celebrity endorsements and roll out policies on foreign policy, infrastructure, manufacturing and taxes. She's done a number of interviews on late night and afternoon TV talk shows designed to show off her softer side, including a well-received cameo on "Saturday Night Live."
"We're the sideshow," said Paul Maslin, a Democratic pollster unaffiliated with either campaign. "This is the opportunity to start to lay the groundwork for a general election message." — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.