Hillary Rodham Clinton, who had set out to use the second Democratic presidential debate to portray herself as the strongest potential commander in chief while France reeled from terror attacks, instead found herself pummeled by rivals on Saturday over her ties to Wall Street and her foreign policy record.
The debate in Des Moines opened with Mrs. Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Martin O'Malley bowing their heads to observe a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the attacks in Paris on Friday.
And, at least at first, the three remaining Democratic candidates seemed acutely aware that traditional political punches could seem petty in the aftermath of the bloodshed.
But then Mr. Sanders and Mr. O'Malley unleashed pointed, yet polite, critiques of Mrs. Clinton's foreign policy stances, including her 2002 vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq, which Mr. Sanders tied to the rise of the Islamic State, which officials in Paris have said was responsible for the attacks.
