Why hasn't Martin O'Malley caught fire? He should be polling a lot better.

[Bread and Circus]

He says a lot of the right things. He has charisma and good looks. I have never heard one bad thing about him. He seems to have the spirit and visage of something new and refreshing. He also has executive experience.

But yet he is polling very low with not a lot of breakthrough movement. Right now I wish we had more of a competitive race. We need more voices to be taken seriously.

However I am glad Chafee and Webb are out.

I really want to see O'Malley break through.

[think]

1. It would seem that he was too late and many had already committed to Clinton or Sanders

[LonePirate]

12. I agree with your assessment.

O'Malley is indeed a wonderful candidate who is worthy is more support than he is currently receiving. He has simply been confronted with a situation where supporters of Hillary and Bernie have largely locked onto their candidates.

If he doesn't win the nomination, he certainly deserves a significant cabinet position, such as Sec. of State or better yet, Attorney General.

[jehop61]

2. He reminds

many of us of John Edwards. Very smooth, but a bit too much charm. And we know how our support of him turned out.

[bigtree]

3. don't blame O'Malley for your own shallow reasoning

...if you just ignore his extensive record of progressive accomplishments, you can attach any old bullshit to him.

Sorry, his extensive record of progressive accomplishments isn't so easily ignored.

[brooklynite]

8. ...and yet it has been.

Do you have an alternate theory?

[bigtree]

15. could it be that your candidate has run an effective campaign?

[brooklynite]

22. ...and O'Malley has not? Yes, that's possible...

...it's also possible that, for any number of reasons, O''malley just isn't popular.

[bigtree]

23. polls show that he's mostly unknown

...but they don't account for your own bias.

[brooklynite]

25. My bias?

I'm just offering opinions as to why he hasn't been able to break beyond 1% when two other candidates can. We're not talking low popularity, we're talking barely noise. Lessig is doing almost as well.

[bigtree]

28. he's running against two relatively well-known, better-known candidates

...both of whom are running strong and effective campaigns. He has an uphill fight.

Attaching all of the other biases against O'Malley to the reasoning isn't supported by anything other than your word. Polls show he's mostly unknown to voters. It follows that his record and positions aren't widely known, as well.

[brooklynite]

35. "It follows that his record and positions aren't widely known, as well. "

Again, who's fault it that? Sanders has clearly expanded his appeal beyond progressives who knew him from the Senate.

[bigtree]

62. I went out of my way to compliment your candidate

..sad that you can't just move on. You seem to have some need to run this good man down, even though your own candidate is doing well. Best of luck with all of that. I don't need this.

[Bread and Circus]

34. It's kind of mind blowing to me. 1% ??? Doesn't add up.

There is a very wierd dynamic regarding the voter base. There should be more uncertainty at this point.

[elleng]

44. B.S. 'polls,' imo.

[yeoman6987]

14. Most know it's easy to govern in a deep blue state

He needs to prove he can do the same with a lot of opponents. The other two have prove that themselves doing that.

[bigtree]

19. Maryland was no slam dunk

...for the policies he fought for and advanced.

Most Marylanders know that.

[FSogol]

4. Once the voting starts, O'Malley will do well. His numbers are improving

and funds are pouring in since the last debate. The next debate is right around the corner.

[Agschmid]

7. I think he could potentially do very well in Iowa.

I don't think he is the nominee but I doubt this is the last we will hear from him.

[askew]

5. Lack of name recognition due to the limited number of debates.

That's it.

[brooklynite]

11. Whereas Bernie Sanders was a household name?

[bigtree]

21. decades in Washington

...and a built-in progressive base of support to promote his candidacy.

It's amazing to me that two D.C. fixtures (for decades) like Clinton and Sanders can be portrayed as virtual unknowns, compared to an mostly unknown governor.

[PoliticAverse]

24. Look at his poor showing in the polls in the state he was Governor of even.

The problem isn't just "name recognition".

[restorefreedom]

6. i think debbie wasserman shultz

could shed some light on that, not that she wants to.

[elleng]

20. Right, a BIG reason,

KEEP HIM OUT!

But he's IN now, and appearing everywhere: http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/omalley--i-am-energized-by-this-race-551941699747

https://www.facebook.com/MartinOMalley/videos/10156300742425393/

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4556718/martin-omalley-remarks-iowa-democrats-jefferson-jackson-dinner

[restorefreedom]

26. good links! nt

[treestar]

9. I thought the debate would give him shiny new toy status

maybe a future debate will, especially if he can say something the media can make a fuss of.

The Democrats who want Hillary would probably be happy with him but think Hillary is more experienced and known.

[Le Taz Hot]

10. I think he would if Sanders wasn't running.

I know I would (reluctantly) support him if Sanders wasn't running. O'Malley is competing with Bernie for the progressive vote. I say reluctantly because when it comes down to it and he drops out of the race, we'll see him endorsing Hillary even though ideologically they are quite different but, because he is a member of the Democratic Party, all that ideology will go out the window and he will endorse who he's ordered to endorse.

[Eric J in MN]

18. Bernie Sanders will also

...endorse the Democratic nominee if it's not him.

[Le Taz Hot]

29. And, ufortunately, that's where Bernie

and I will part ways.

[Eric J in MN]

13. This article about mass arrests

...in Baltimore under Mayor Martin O'Malley may be a factor.

"The Wire Creator Blames Martin O’Malley for Baltimore Police Problems"

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/04/29/david-simon-on-baltimore-s-anguish

[elleng]

16. He has an answer here, today on Morning Joe:

http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/omalley--i-am-energized-by-this-race-551941699747

[JI7]

17. Hillary Clinton

[sufrommich]

27. I'm going to repeat a conversation I had that's going to

sound stupid but here it is,my son is not thrilled with anyone in the primaries and is most likely going to sit them out,he'll vote for the democratic nominee because he hates the GOP.Here's our conversation:

Me: I think O'Malley could be the dark horse in the primary.


Him: You know O'Malley is the guy they based the Mayor of Baltimore on in The Wire,right?

Me: (I've never watched The Wire) Is that a bad thing?

Him: Yes.


I honestly wonder if a lot of his problem is that he was portrayed badly in that show,maybe that's how a lot of people know who he is.

[bigtree]

30. that doesn't make sense

...polls show him as a virtual unknown compared to the two others.

I haven't seen one poll making that linkage.

[sufrommich]

31. Maybe it's just fans of The Wire who would know that.

It was news to me.As I said,I've never seen the show and have no idea how the Mayor was portrayed,I just thought it was a curious remark.

[one_voice]

37. This is what the creator of The Wire said...

Watson introduced O’Malley, former Baltimore mayor and now Democratic governor, as “one of the real-life inspirations for the mayor of the hit TV show The Wire.”

O’Malley begged to differ: “I would take issue with whether or not I’m the inspiration for The Wire," he said. "I’m the antidote to The Wire.”

Watson replied: “Well said. You ran the city of Baltimore for eight years, I believe it was, and with much greater success than The Wire demonstrates.

*snip*

David Simon, The Wire’s creator, has insisted that the mayoral character Tommy Carcetti — while "reflective" of O’Malley — is actually a composite of dozens of politicians he covered when he was a reporter at The Baltimore Sun


http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/2009/07/the_wire_may_off_the_air_but_o.html

Side note: The Wire was an excellent show, if you ever have a chance you should watch it.

[Andy823]

32. It's the media

They decided this would be a two person race, Bernie vs Hillary, and they have made sure it stays that way. O'Malley can still break out with a couple of really good debates, but as long as the media want's this to be all about Hillary and Bernie, then it will be hard for O'Malley, I will admit that.

[artislife]

47. Honestly, I think they wanted a one person

waltz into the nomination.
But 2 different set of Democrats tried to rope in two different candidates into the run. Sanders and Warren have been joined together on many issues in the Senate. That helped him, the Warren for President group was happy to have him after it was clear Warren would not run.

[Smarmie Doofus]

33. Hmmm.... Good questions all.

1. He could have made a dent with a better answer to the Snowden question in the CNN debate. Awful. Even Clinton's answer was better.
Defendants at Nuremberg made more sense, frankly.

2. Baltimore is in an uproar. This is MO'M's chance to answer the (unanswerable) HRC question: "Yeah, well. So in all that time that she's ( you've ) had what has she (you) actually, you know, *accomplished*?

3. One gets the sense that, unlike Sanders, he's just another lawyer/pol. looking for a promotion. Maybe he mouths the "right" things. Now. But where was he when Sanders was raking (what's his face?) FED chairman Alan Greenspan over the coals in front of a senate committee?

4. He looks great. All the Kennedy-esque stuff is in order. But there's more to it these days than that.


He seems like a decent person. But....if MO'M going to "break through"... other than as a veep nom..... he's going to have to come up w. another plan in a hurry.

A BIG hurry.

[brooklynite]

36. Re: #3. He was the Mayor of Baltimore. Why would he opine on national finance and banking?

Last edited Mon Oct 26, 2015, 06:47 PM - Edit history (1)

[PoliticAverse]

54. He was governor of Maryland, from 2007 to 2015.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Maryland

[brooklynite]

59. And the Sanders-Greenspan incident occurred in 2003.

[lovemydog]

38. I don't know.

I'm leaning toward Sanders but still undecided. There's a long way to go before I vote in the primary. I like O'Malley a lot. His proposals are outstanding and comprehensive. I'm still giving him serious consideration and enjoy reading more about him. I too am glad Chaffee and Webb are out. Neither of those two did anything at that the first debate that made me consider voting for them. Looking forward to the next debate where it will be three candidates who all appear quite capable of being a great President. Especially with a more liberal Congress and engaged citizenry.

[elleng]

41. Try this:

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4556718/martin-omalley-remarks-iowa-democrats-jefferson-jackson-dinner

[lovemydog]

56. Great clip of Martin O'Malley.

Thanks elleng. Rock & roll!

[elleng]

57. Glad you like it.

He's MOVING!

[Bucky]

39. Right, it's like only Budweiser and Schlitz are selling while Shiner Bock stays on the shelf

[Kalidurga]

40. I have no idea.

I think he might be too nice. I have never ever seen him grumpy not even a little. He doesn't seem to go after his opponents at all. So, I think those are great traits. But, people seem to not react well to candidates they think don't have the fire. I wish it was different. The world would be a whole lot better if the nice people ran it.

[elleng]

42. Here:

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4556718/martin-omalley-remarks-iowa-democrats-jefferson-jackson-dinner

[ibegurpard]

43. Voters are craving authenticity

O'Malley is offering detailed policy plans. He left me cold in the debates and obviously I'm not alone. People will trust you to come up with the policy if they feel like they can trust you on a gut level. O'Malley exhibited no fire or passion and that's what people looking for an alternative to HillaryInc want.

[elleng]

45. Cold after this?

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4556718/martin-omalley-remarks-iowa-democrats-jefferson-jackson-dinner

[elleng]

46. Passion

https://www.facebook.com/MartinOMalley/videos/10156300742425393/

[Bread and Circus]

48. He did seem a bit over rehearsed in the debate and Sanders scruffy candor is resfreshing.

I also think Sandors speaks to the fundamental anger and frustration many of us feel in an unabashed way.

So, I can see what you are saying but I think there should be a market for O'Malley's polish.

[ibegurpard]

49. in a different time yes

But not now. The Sanders/Trump comparisons are apt on some levels... both are tapping into a deep-seated disgust with the political class. The political class (which includes much of the mainstream media) cannot wrap their heads around this.

[elleng]

50. What does that MEAN, 'over rehearsed?'

That's what they DO, in debates and fora.

Passion and anger: https://www.facebook.com/MartinOMalley/videos/10156300742425393/

[Bread and Circus]

51. over rehearsed... hmmm... I guess to me its when

Something sounds so perfect it starts to feel like plastic.

I personally like raw and real because deep down we are just apes. Raw and real is something I can believe. Too much artifice makes me think you are trying to pull the wool over my eyes.

This is not to detract from O'Malley. Like I said he has charisma but for me a bit too perfect. I guess when he smiles to much when he is saying things that depict or allude to struggle or negative frames.

[LoveIsNow]

52. He is creepy and robotic.

Also he vaguely blamed Benghazi on Clinton at the debate, which is a loser for me, even though I'm a Sanders voter.

EDIT: Also the way he talks about his police crackdowns in Baltimore. He comes across callous.

[FSogol]

53. Translation: I only listen to M$M soundbites.

[LoveIsNow]

55. I watched the whole debate.

That was the impression I got. Sorry if you disagree.

[elleng]

58. and no where did he blame hrc for benghazi.

[LoveIsNow]

60. You know what? I stand corrected.

Upon checking the transcript, I realize I am remembering his comments incorrectly.

O'MALLEY: Anderson, I think there's lessons to be learned from Benghazi. And those lessons are that we need to do a much better job as a nation of having human intelligence on the ground so that we know who the emerging next generation leaders are that are coming up to replace a dictator when his time on this planet ends.
And I believe that's what Chris Stevens was trying to do. But he did not have the tools. We have failed as a country to invest in the human intelligence that would allow us to make not only better decisions in Libya, but better decisions in Syria today.
And it's a huge national security failing.

Nowhere does he assign blame to anyone. When I watched, I thought he was saying that it was the Obama administration's fault, and thus Clinton's. Now that I read the words absent his tone of voice, what he was saying makes sense and clearly wasn't the attack it seemed to me.

[elleng]

61. Good.

[bigtree]

63. he's really a nice man

...he sings regularly on the campaign trail about love, compassion, and our shared commitment to the well being of each other.

I just don't understand anyone calling him 'creepy'. What a f'd up world we live in.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

64. Lack of quality, healthy recievers. Inconsistent o-line protection.

Most notably, he's unable to overcome the hole that the poor play of the defense has put the team in.

Wait, did you say Martin O'Malley? Sorry, I thought you were talking about Joe Flacco.




The whole Baltimore connection thing sort of threw me off.

[Capt. Obvious]

65. He got in too late