What makes someone electable? I wondered about this on Friday night as I listened to Martin O’Malley during the Democrats’ nomination forum. He said all the right things, and said them lucidly and with conviction.
And he listed an impressive record of accomplishments. As governor of Maryland, he implemented some of the most progressive programs since LBJ – legalizing same-sex marriage, ending the death penalty, introducing gun control, decriminalizing marijuana, improving Maryland’s higher education system and making it more affordable …
And he did it while curbing state spending and creating thousands of jobs.
One of the interesting things about Martin O’Malley is his pragmatism.
He isn’t averse to imposing taxes when he thinks they’re called for but he doesn’t preach “income redistribution.” His vision is for  America to be “opportunity-expanding.” Surely, that would resonate with Independents as well as Democrats?
What could be more American than a level playing field where any of us could become a billionaire if we had the smarts and the luck?
I think O’Malley is a fine looking man with an all-American family (photo above). At 52 years old, he still reminds me of those Charles Atlas pictures that inspired my “dynamic tension” exercises as a skinny teenager (lower photo).
There’s a lighter side to his personality, too, although you wouldn’t have guessed it from his one-on-one with Rachel Maddow the other night. Appearing on The View recently, he produced a guitar and performed a Taylor Swift hit song, for example.
Also quite interesting is the fact that, after a lifetime in politics, O’Malley has managed to amass no personal fortune. He is one of the poorest presidential candidates. All he reported as income recently was his last salary as governor, his pension,  a few speaking fees and a stipend as a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University.
Sounds like a rare breed in today’s American politics, doesn’t he?
So why is he polling so poorly? Why is he being ignored by the media when Ben Carson and Donald Trump get so much press?
It must be the gigantic shadow cast by Hillary and the revolutionary flame ignited by Bernie that are obscuring this eminently qualified candidate. At any other time in history, he would surely be capturing the public’s attention.
Perhaps in eight years?
How about it, Hillary? How about picking him as your running mate. He is the right age, and with a little of your grooming in foreign relations and the fine art of politics, he would be an impressive candidate to follow your second term.
Top photo shows  O’Malley with his wife Katie and two of their four kids. Lower photo shows O’Malley’s muscles.
Click for O’Malley on The View.
