Hillary Clinton shines in Democrat debate

US vice president, Joe Biden faced an altered political dynamic after Hillary Clinton reasserted her command of the Democratic Party race, during a debate that may have left little room for him to run.

Clinton, 67, was hailed by analysts for her nimble, effective performance on Tuesday night, easing the fears of Democrats fretting that the flap over her use of a private email server, while in the Obama administration, was torpedoing her candidacy.

She may have dampened calls for Biden to make a belated entrance into the race, while also blunting the threat from insurgent candidate, Bernie Sanders, a 74-year-old senator from Vermont and self-described democratic socialist.

“If you’re a Hillary supporter and you were worried for whatever reason, you should feel very good about yourself,” said Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist who attended the debate in Las Vegas.

“This is the kind of debate that helps build momentum.”

Sanders, Clinton’s top rival among declared Democratic presidential candidates, was handed the opportunity by debate moderators to assail her over the email issue.

Instead, he dismissed the controversy as trivial, drawing an ovation from the crowd and shoving the spotlight away from Clinton’s most profound political weakness.

For Biden, 72, who continues to ponder a bid for the November 2016 election, the evening served as a reminder of how tenacious Clinton, steeled by scores of debates in her 2008 presidential run, and four years as secretary of state, can be as a candidate.

Clinton seemed to be reaching out both to the progressives in her party more likely to back Sanders and the moderates who may prefer Biden.

She went toe-to-toe with Sanders over gun control, addressed income inequality, and advocated for liberal family-leave policies.

Let's do this. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/y31OQXaa9b

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 14, 2015

She rejected Sanders’ call to break up Wall Street banks, reiterated her support of the Patriot Act, and said she would not hesitate to use military force, at times obliquely criticising President Barack Obama’s White House, and, by proxy, Biden, for failing to stand up to Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and for doing too little with regard to the civil war in Syria.

“I think Biden probably has less room (for a bid),” said Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist in Washington. “People had questions about how well Hillary can handle herself. I thought she performed very well.”

The evening may have also exposed Sanders’ limitations. He has made populist economic themes central to his campaign, to the exclusion of other issues. His discomfort about guns, his home state of Vermont is protective of gun rights, and foreign policy seemed evident. “He didn’t handle himself well on guns or on foreign policy,” Bannon said.

“He seemed flustered and defensive. Americans want someone calm and collected when dealing with a crisis.”