Bernie Sanders: "One of us ran against Barack Obama. I was not that candidate"
During Thursday's Democratic debate, the last before the South Carolina primary, the party's two presidential candidates argued over who had said more damaging things about President Obama's leadership.
Clinton chided Sanders over his endorsement of a recently published book attacking the president's legacy.
"He wrote a foreword for a book that basically argued voters should have buyer's remorse when it comes to President Obama's leadership," Clinton said on stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Clinton continued, "The kind of criticism that we've heard from Sen. Sanders about our president -- I expect from Republicans. I do not expect from someone running for the Democratic nomination to succeed President Obama."
Sanders called Clinton's comments a "low blow" and went on to defend his book endorsement.
The "blurb," he said, argued that "the next president of the United States has got to be aggressive in bringing people into the political process."
Sanders' full quote read: "Bill Press makes the case why, long after taking the oath of office, the next president of the United States must keep rallying the people who elected him or her on behalf of progressive causes. That is the only way real change will happen. Read this book."
And Sanders added that while there were areas where they disagreed, "President Obama and I are friends," Sanders said. "I think it is really unfair to suggest that I have not been supportive of the president. I have been a strong ally with him on virtually every issue."
But the book, written by liberal commentator and former California Democratic Party chair Bill Press, is titled "Buyer's Remorse: How Obama let Progressives Down." According to promotions of the book, it largely focuses on "the many ways President Obama has failed to live up to either his promises or his progressive potential."
In a final slap at Clinton, Sanders pointed out: "One of us ran against Barack Obama. I was not that candidate."
Last week Michael Briggs, Sanders' campaign spokesman, defended the book blurb during an interview with CNN.
"The next president can try to achieve bold proposals because of the foundation they put in place," Briggs continued. "Obviously, telling someone to read a book doesn't mean you agree with everything that's in the book."