Democrats vying to succeed Obama line up behind his agenda
WASHINGTON (AP) — If the recent Republican presidential debates have revealed hobbling breaks in the party, the Democrats' first political X-ray showed a couple of hairline fractures.
On President Barack Obama, at times a source of considerable Democratic discontent, their positions ranged from warm embrace to polite disagreement.
The candidates largely pledged to build on Obama's health overhaul, preserve or expand his immigration orders and continue global climate change talks.
Obama is popular with Latinos, blacks, young people and unmarried women — the core coalition that any Democrat will need to win the nomination and the White House.
The GOP ranks have battled their party's leadership for nearly all of Obama's presidency.
The conflict has boiled over in recent weeks as conservatives and moderates in the House spar over the speakership, and Republican voters elevate party outsiders Donald Trump and Ben Carson to the top of the presidential polls.
At their recent debates, Republicans have clashed over immigration policy, federal spending, compromising with Democrats and the lessons of Bush's presidency.
Whether a party breaks up or falls in line at the end of a presidency tends to be determined by how popular or divisive the incumbent is, says Sidney M. Milkis, a political scientist at the University of Virginia's Miller Center.