The Hillary Clinton campaign on Tuesday said that recent attacks from conservatives show that Republicans are hoping Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will win the Democratic nomination because they believe he would be easier to beat in the general election.

In a Tuesday evening statement, the Clinton campaign's communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, mentioned an ad from the Rove-aligned super PAC American Crossroads, which accused Clinton of being in Wall Street's pocket. Palmieri said the ad suggests that Republicans want to face Sanders in the general election.

"While Senator Sanders tries to make a case on electability based on meaningless polls, Republicans and their super PACs have made clear the candidate they’re actually afraid to face. The Sanders argument falls apart when the GOP spokesman is trying to help him and the Republicans run ads trying to stop Hillary Clinton in the primary," she said in the statement.

“Now, there are things we can do to improve it, but to tear it up and start over again, pushing our country back into that kind of a contentious debate, I think is the wrong direction,” Clinton said.

Sanders objected to Clinton’s characterization, emphasizing his past support for the existing health care law. “We're not going to tear up the Affordable Care Act. I helped write it. But we are going to move on top of that to a Medicaid-for-all system,” Sanders said.

Clinton, however, emphasized the political difficulty of approving a single-payer system. She noted that a Democrat-controlled Congress was unable to even approve a public option allowing Americans to buy into Medicare. And Sanders had no good answer when asked why the state of Vermont couldn’t pass an expensive single-payer plan, saying that was for the governor of Vermont to answer.....

Whichever Democrat wins the nomination will have to overcome the opposition that independent voters in Iowa and elsewhere have for Obamacare. Cozying up to Obama also could have consequences after the primary season.

Clinton mostly succeeded Sunday in keeping Sanders off balance, pressing her attacks and distracting him from areas where she is weakest. That’s enough to give her the win for this debate – if Iowa Democrats don’t choke at the negative attacks.

“Now, there are things we can do to improve it, but to tear it up and start over again, pushing our country back into that kind of a contentious debate, I think is the wrong direction,” Clinton said.

Sanders objected to Clinton’s characterization, emphasizing his past support for the existing health care law. “We're not going to tear up the Affordable Care Act. I helped write it. But we are going to move on top of that to a Medicaid-for-all system,” Sanders said.

Clinton, however, emphasized the political difficulty of approving a single-payer system. She noted that a Democrat-controlled Congress was unable to even approve a public option allowing Americans to buy into Medicare. And Sanders had no good answer when asked why the state of Vermont couldn’t pass an expensive single-payer plan, saying that was for the governor of Vermont to answer.....

Whichever Democrat wins the nomination will have to overcome the opposition that independent voters in Iowa and elsewhere have for Obamacare. Cozying up to Obama also could have consequences after the primary season.

Clinton mostly succeeded Sunday in keeping Sanders off balance, pressing her attacks and distracting him from areas where she is weakest. That’s enough to give her the win for this debate – if Iowa Democrats don’t choke at the negative attacks.