Despite all of the recent drama, Beltway insiders still think Hillary Clinton has the Democratic presidential nomination all squared away. But mischief-makers like the Drudge Report have been trying to build a buzz that former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley may throw his hat in the ring, giving Clinton a run for her money.
Until recently, the only potential contender speculated to run against Clinton was the far left’s “dream girl,” Elizabeth Warren. Despite being relatively the same age (Warren 65, Clinton 67), the Warren camp has been trying its hardest to differentiate the two, attempting to make Clinton look almost right of center on the political spectrum (and it doesn’t hurt that Warren’s got that old Native American “claim” to use against Clinton. )
Then comes Martin O’Malley, the “cool,” good-looking, younger (age 52) and guitar-wielding former governor of Maryland. (Please ignore he was so "popular" the new governor is a Republican.)
O’Malley set the rumor mill afire about a presidential campaign after he decided not to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D). He also just spent a busy weekend clocking 400 miles by stumping in Iowa.
What better way to create a striking contrast between O’Malley and Clinton (even Warren), than to compare him to JFK…and what better way to make this “cool” possible presidential candidate appeal to younger voters than having him branded as the “new JFK”, as one Iowan college newspaper recently noted.
The University of Iowa’s The Daily Iowan, gushed over O’Malley’s recent weekend trip to The Hawkeye State. Here’s how the writer, Quentin Misiag, described him:
“Martin O’Malley can work a room, they say: Whether it’s an expansive hotel ballroom with several hundred in attendance or a dimly lit restaurant and bar over pizza.
He’s careful and precise in his articulation of speech and “someone you can believe in.”
He packs the executive leadership often craved by presidential voters: eight years at the helm of Maryland government and before that as mayor of Baltimore, where, supporters say, he reversed the Eastern industrial city’s decline.
Then there’s his dashing smile, an appetite for tech (he’s an avid user of Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter), and youthful age.”
And if that wasn’t enough to differentiate O’Malley from Clinton, they took a jab at Hillary, saying: “Oh, and he’s made trips to Iowa a top priority, something that presumed Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton hasn’t.”
Misiag also says that “O’Malley has the ability to captivate the nation and rise from a relatively unknown to a political juggernaut as John F. Kennedy did in the 1960s…”
Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba thinks O’Malley is one of “a new breed of Democrats,” whatever that means. Hmmm....weren't we told all along by the media that Obama represented the “new breed of Democrats?”
Diane Bolte, a 2nd District Democratic Central Committee Executive Board member, was quoted as saying “I’m ready for somebody different…He’s somebody you can believe in.” (Again...haven’t we heard this before?)
A Quinnipiac University poll last month showed that Clinton had a 61 percent lead among “caucus goers”, with Warren coming in at second place with 19 percent. O’Malley barely made 1 percent. Despite the polls, O’Malley has been increasing his visibility, trying to chip away at Clinton’s lead.
Tom Whalen, a presidential historian and political pundit, claims there are similarities between O’Malley and JFK, such as charisma, especially in relation to issues of domestic policies and income equality. Whalen also said that O’Malley has worked to "establish himself as a crisis manager during his tenor as governor and mayor, just as JFK did during the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis."
The Bay of Pigs was an achievement for JFK? That's like saying Jimmy Carter proved himself in the Iranian hostage situation. That's not how the voters saw it.
It’s interesting that the left is trying to brand O’Malley as “the new JFK” to distinguish himself against the pending Clinton presidential campaign machine. That's exactly the way they sold Bill Clinton in 1992, and when Ted Kennedy endorsed Obama in 2008. Perhaps that comparison ought to make Mrs. O'Malley nervous. But Hillary? According to these O'Malley endorsers, perhaps she "established herself as a crisis manager" while handling her husband's sexual harassment lawsuits and adultery scandals.
