Who is Enemies with Clinton? Iranians or the Iranian Regime?

If for Americans, gun control, Syria, and minimum wage were among the important topics of the Democratic debate on Tuesday, for Iranians, an unexpected remark caught their attention more than anything else; that Hillary Clinton proudly stated she is glad that 'Iranians' are her enemies. But what was the story? These debates are always filled with moments where candidates deliver their rehearsed responses. They practice extensively for these moments. Each has advisors who analyze various aspects of a response. In some cases, they pre-determine their tone, hand movements, and eye direction. Simply put, part of each of these debates is a pre-designed performance where whoever executes it better has a greater chance of winning. However, there are also moments when surprising questions arise. Coincidentally, the answers to these questions can significantly impact a candidate's final fate. The issue of Clinton and the Iranians in Tuesday's debate was the result of one of these unplanned questions. The root of this question was a quote from Franklin Roosevelt; one of the most successful Democrats of the 20th century who led America during World War II and incidentally visited Tehran during this period. Roosevelt once said: 'I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.' During the debate on Tuesday, Anderson Cooper, the handsome CNN host, first read this quote. Then he addressed the candidates: 'Each of you has offended some people during your political career. Which of these enemies do you take the most pride in?' It seemed to be a strange question that even made the audience laugh. Nevertheless, each candidate responded in some way to this question. When it was Hillary Clinton's turn, unlike others who mentioned one or two enemies, she listed her enemies. She said: 'In addition to the National Rifle Association, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, Iranians, probably Republicans.' Clinton's reference was likely to her efforts during her tenure as Secretary of State to control Iran's nuclear program, where she successfully created a unified global front against the Iranian government's nuclear activities and significantly increased the scope of economic sanctions against Iran. Regardless, this statement led almost all Persian news agencies to publish this part of her remarks. Additionally, there was no shortage of reactions on Persian social media to this part of the Democratic debate; reactions that were accompanied by anger and dissatisfaction from some, while others emphasized that Clinton meant not the Iranian people but the 'Islamic Republic regime.' This is somewhat similar to the interpretation that some Iranian officials provide for the slogan 'Death to America,' stating that this slogan refers not to the American people but to their government. And just as the explanations of Iranian officials about the slogan 'Death to America' do not convince part of the American public, interpretations regarding Clinton's meaning of 'Iranians' also seem insufficient for some Iranians, especially those who believe their identity is separate from the regime ruling Iran and that Clinton could easily have stated 'the Iranian regime' instead of the general and inclusive term 'Iranians' to emphasize her enmity with the Iranian regime. However, Iranians who are upset with Clinton have accepted the presumption that 'Iranians' (in the general sense of the majority of the Iranian people) are enemies with Hillary Clinton, which may not seem very realistic. At least for Clinton, it will not be easy to prove that 'Iranians' are her enemies. However, she will have sufficient evidence to show that 'the Iranian regime' or, in fact, some high-ranking Iranian officials (from the leader and minister to members of parliament and Friday prayer leaders) are her enemies and have expressed harsh opinions against her. But the debate on Tuesday was not limited to this one sentence from Clinton about Iranians! You can read Radio Farda's news report about this debate and a description of what happened here. Among the important issues of the debate was that the three lower-tier candidates, Lincoln Chafee (former governor of Rhode Island), Martin O'Malley (former governor of Maryland), and Jim Webb (former senator from Virginia), remained in a position of obscurity and none of them created a situation similar to Carly Fiorina in the Republican Party. The main competition in the Democratic Party is between these two: Clinton (right) and Sanders (left). According to polls, these three currently have no chance of success, and all three are even behind Joe Biden, who has not declared his candidacy! Furthermore, Bernie Sanders, Clinton's main rival, kept his promise and refrained from any personal attacks. He even defended his party mate against Republicans during the discussion about 'Clinton's emails,' stating that there are more important issues for the American people that need to be resolved. This stance of Sanders received widespread coverage in American media and placed him in a position of moral superiority. However, Hillary Clinton explicitly attacked Sanders during the discussion on gun control in America, reminding him that he had been lax in this area in the past. Mr. Sanders, in response, could not satisfy many supporters of gun control and resorted to repetitive and general remarks. At the end of the debate, many declared Clinton the ultimate winner. Because she remains at the top of national polls, some believe that in such a position, not making mistakes is the biggest victory. For many, Clinton did not make any significant mistakes. She had a successful presence against Sanders, provided quick and clear responses, and satisfied her supporters. If the first Democratic debate had one important outcome, it was that the intra-party competition among Democrats for the presidential nomination, although few in number, is not an easy competition, and the Clinton-Sanders duality has the potential to ultimately turn into a fierce political battle, similar to what happened in 2008 between Clinton and Obama. Lastly, there were no moments reminiscent of Trump in the Democratic debate. Democratic supporters also did not let any figure resembling Donald Trump embarrass Republicans as much as they could! The next Democratic debate will be held about a month later on November 14.