Washington, Apr 9 (IANS): Former US president Bill Clinton suggested there were "different standards" regarding gender in the ongoing debate between his wife and Democrat front-runner Hillary Clinton, and opponent Bernie Sanders over who is more qualified to be president.

Earlier this week, Sanders caused a "firestorm" when he said Hillary Clinton was not "qualified" to be the president, citing her support from Wall Street donors and her 2002 vote as a New York senator for the Iraq war, CNN reported on Saturday.

Asked by a reporter in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday if "gender was a factor" in Sanders' comments, Bill Clinton began by praising his wife, saying she's the best candidate for president.

"I think it's obvious by a country mile and that's all that matters to me," Clinton said.

"Yes, I think there are some different standards. Some of them are subconscious."

Later on Friday, Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said that Sanders' remarks "obviously was not a gender-related thing".

Asked if Sanders regretted the choice of words, Weaver said the campaign had meant "qualified in the sense of 'disqualified' as opposed to 'unqualified.'"

"I think those are different meanings," Weaver said, adding "Obviously, the secretary is resume-qualified. She has a distinguished resume, there's no doubt about that, no one can take that away from her."

As of now, Hillary Clinton is leading the Democrats race with 1,780 votes and Sanders is in the second position with 1,099.