Bernie Sanders has been remarkably consistent on Bill Clinton's peccadilloes — as this 1998 video shows

Bernie Sanders criticizes Bill Clinton&#039;s personal behavior, says he won&#039;t campaign on it

(Image credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

published 18 January 2016

At Sunday's Democratic debate, NBC News asked Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) about his recent criticism of former President Bill Clinton's affair with an intern. Sanders said that he is constantly urged to attack Hillary Clinton to get press, but he is trying to run an issues-oriented campaign. He made his Bill Clinton comments, Sanders said, because a reporter asked him about it. So regarding Bill Clinton, "yes, his behavior was deplorable," Sanders said, but he will continue to run an issues-oriented campaign against Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley.

Sanders has been very consistent on this point. Here he is, as a House member, in December 1998, saying on the House floor that President Clinton "acted deplorably in his personal behavior," but impeaching him is an idiotic distraction because the American people wanted Congress to "get on with the business of the American people" Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox