It was inevitable, given the reprisal of public interest in the indiscretions of and accusations against Bill Clinton, that the former president was going to come up in tonight’s debate. But when offered the chance to take the Clintons to task either for Bill’s past behavior or the role he might play in a hypothetical Hillary administration, Bernie wrote off the focus on Bill with the same exasperation he brushed off Hillary’s emails with in the first Democratic debate:
“That question annoys me. I cannot walk down the street — Secretary Clinton knows this — without being told how much I have to attack Secretary Clinton...Want to get me on the front pages of the paper? I could make some vicious attack. I have avoided doing that, trying to run an issue-oriented campaign...Yes, [Bill’s] behavior was deplorable...Have I ever once said a word about that issue, no I have not. I am going to debate Secretary Clinton and Governor O’Malley on the issues facing the American people, not Bill Clinton’s personal behavior.”