Clinton, Sanders clash over Obama in debate

MILWAUKEE -- Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders battled for the crucial backing of black and Hispanic voters in Thursday night's Democratic debate and clashed heatedly over their support for Barack Obama as the presidential race shifted toward states with more minority voters.

Clinton, who has cast herself as the rightful heir to Obama's legacy, accused Sanders of diminishing the president's record and short-changing his leadership.

"The kind of criticism I hear from Sen. Sanders, I expect from Republicans. I do not expect it from someone seeking the Democratic nomination," Clinton said in a sharp exchange at the close of the two-hour debate in Milwaukee.

Her biting comments followed an interview in which Sanders suggested Obama hadn't succeeded in closing the gap between Congress and the American people -- something Obama himself has acknowledged.

Sanders responded sharply: "Madam Secretary, that is a low blow." He noted Clinton was the only one on the stage who ran against Obama in the 2008 presidential race.

After splitting this year's first two states with Sanders, Clinton also renewed her assertion her unexpectedly strong rival was energizing voters with promises "that cannot be kept."

Seeking to boost his own support with minorities, Sanders peppered his typically economic-focused rhetoric with calls to reform a "broken criminal-justice system."

"At the end of my first term, we will not have more people in jail than any other country," he said.

In one of many moments of agreement between the candidates, Clinton concurred on a need to address a criminal-justice system that incarcerates a disproportionate number of minorities. But she cast her proposals for fighting racial inequality as broader than his.

"We're going to emphasize education, jobs and housing," said Clinton, who was endorsed earlier in the day by the political-action committee of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Long viewed as the overwhelming front-runner in the Democratic race, Clinton has been caught off guard by Sanders' strength -- particularly his visceral connection with Americans frustrated by the current political and economic systems.

Clinton's own campaign message has looked muddled compared to his ringing call for a "political revolution," and her connections to Wall Street have given Sanders an easy way to link her to the systems his supporters want to overhaul.

Seeking to stem Sanders' momentum, Clinton's campaign has argued his appeal is limited to the white, liberal voters who make up the Democratic electorate in Iowa and New Hampshire. Clinton's team says as the race turns to Nevada, South Carolina and other more diverse states, her support from black and Hispanic voters will help propel her to the nomination.

The candidates both vowed to pursue comprehensive immigration reform, using the emotional issue to draw a contrast with Republicans who oppose allowing many of the millions of people in the United States illegally to stay.

"We have got to stand up to the Trumps of the world who are trying to divide us up," said Sanders, referring to Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who has called for deporting everyone in the country illegally and constructing a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Both Clinton and Sanders disagreed with a series of raids authorized by President Obama to arrest and deport some people from Central America who recently came to the country illegally. Immigration advocates and some Democratic lawmakers have condemned the raids, calling them inhumane.

"We should be deporting criminals, not hardworking immigrant families who do the very best they can," Clinton said.