I am in no means endorsing Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Md.) for president in 2016. He deserves a chance from Daily Kos and the entire country in the summer and the fall. O'Malley has classic credentials.
-Born in the Baltimore suburbs
-Son of working class Irish-Catholic parents Thomas and Barbara O'Malley
-A lawyer, a former aid to former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart's 1984 presidential campaign
-Ran for Baltimore mayor in 1999 and won in a landslide, won re-election in 2003
-Spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in July 2004 in Boston
-Married to Katie Curran O'Malley, a current judge, and daughter of former Maryland Attorney Gen. Joseph Curran.
-Ran for Governor in 2006, won, defeated Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich (who is probably running for president as well in 2016)
-Won re-election in 2010 over Ehrlich by a wider margin.
-Spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, September 2012
O'Malley has credentials that will appeal to progressive voters and some independents, working with a Democratic-controlled Maryland legislature to sign gun control, approving gay marriage, ending death penalty, approving medical marijuana, and tax increases on the wealthy, to the chagrin of conservative Free Republic voters in Carroll County, Maryland. O'Malley looks presidential, and may have the charm factor in a election, due to his band that he founded in 1988.
However, O'Malley may have some problems with his candidacy. First, as mayor of Baltimore, he supported the aggressive policing that caused police brutality, and a disconnection with African-American members of Baltimore, the same police brutality that likely caused the death of unarmed black man Freddie Gray in April 2015.
Some people feel that O'Malley would receive tepid support from black and Latino voters due to his aggressive policing.
Also, some say that O'Malley is generic, bland, and comes from a small state that is going to vote Democratic in presidential elections, a safe blue state, unless the Democratic nominee is unappealing. Some people say that if O'Malley were to win the nomination, he would have a hard time winning Maryland of all places because he left office relatively unpopular. Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown couldn't even win election, and Larry Hogan defeated Brown in 2014.
Other than that, I am not endorsing any presidential candidate as of now. I will look at the field and see how it goes by now and the fall. I do think, however, we should give Martin O'Malley a chance.
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