By Ginger Gibson and Steve Holland

DES MOINES: With Iowa kicking off the2016 election season in one week Democratic presidentialfront-runner Hillary Clinton tried to erase doubts about herjudgment raised by rival Bernie Sanders on Monday while diggingdeep into her years of governing experience.

At a CNN town hall meeting Sanders argued that his ownjudgment not Clinton's experience is the most crucial qualityfor the next commander-in-chief. Clinton in response evoked

President Barack Obama saying when he selected her to besecretary of state he gave approval to her judgment.

"You have to have somebody who is a proven proven fighter"Clinton said.

Anxious to put down a threat from the democratic socialistClinton faced the challenge of convincing Democratic voters notto be swayed by Sanders' populist rhetoric and to stick with her

despite a clamor for candidates outside the politicalestablishment.

The town hall at Drake University lacked the feel of anormal debate. It featured separate appearances by Sandersformer Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and Clinton and allthree took audience questions at the event.

Clinton was more animated than usual raising her voice tomake points and Sanders made the audience laugh with somejokes. The overall tone was polite in contrast to a more rancorous fourth debate between the three last week.

COMPARISON ON VOTING RECORD

Sanders cited Clinton's 2002 Senate vote to authorize theIraq war and her prior support for the Canada-to-Texas KeystonePipeline as evidence that her experience is misguided. Clinton

has shifted her position on both issues while Sanders opposedboth from the start.

"Experience is important but judgment is also important" hesaid.

Sanders also defended his call for raising taxes to fund a"Medicare-for-all" program U.S. infrastructure and tuition-freecollege education.

"We will raise taxes. Yes we will" said Sanders a Vermontsenator. But he said the money would actually save money forfamilies because they would no longer pay health insurance

premiums.

Clinton has been making the case that her time as secretaryof state and a senator from New York make her more experienced.

But on the town hall stage on Monday she pushed back atSanders' judgment argument by evoking Obama who remains popularwith Democratic voters and was critical of her Iraq War votewhen the two competed in 2008.

" ended up asking me to be secretary of state"Clinton said. "It was because he trusted my judgment and weworked side by side over those four years."

Clinton who lost the Democratic primary to Obama in 2008was for months the clear front-runner to be the party's nomineethis time around but opinion polls have showed a surge of

support for Sanders in recent weeks.

She argues that while Sanders' goals on issues such associal inequality are laudable some are unobtainable and helacks the experience to tackle a wide range of issues.

"When you're in the White House you cannot pick the issuesyou want to work on you've got to be ready to take on everyissue that comes your way including those you cannot predict"

Clinton told the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines onMonday.

Clinton also went to great lengths at the town hall tocriticize Republican front-runner Donald Trump particularly forinsulting minorities. "He started with Mexicans he's now with

Muslims" she said.

Clinton got some much-needed praise from President Obama ina Politico interview published on Monday exactly a week beforeIowans hold the nation's first nominating contest for the

November 8 election.

While never explicitly criticizing Sanders whose campaignis focused on pledges to redress social inequality and containWall Street excesses Obama praised Clinton's experience and

suggested several times that Clinton's messages are grounded inrealism.

"(S)he's extraordinarily experienced - and you know wickedsmart and knows every policy inside and out - (and) sometimes(that) could make her more cautious and her campaign more prosethan poetry" Obama said.

Reuters