Promoted by Steven D. Thanks fladem for your first-hand account.

I think many here, and most who think of themselves left of the Democratic Party center are looking for a candidate other than Hilary Clinton.  Front runners can lose, and there is nothing inevitable in politics. To date I know of four candidates that have floated their names (other than Biden – and I don’t think he is running.):

Brian Schweitzer – I saw him speak to the New Hampshire Delegation at the 2012 Convention.  It was a low key speech that talked about the Patriot Act.  Over the last year the have been disturbing rumors about him, and there is no indication he is still planning to run.

Jim Webb – I posted about this earlier this week.  There are good things, but there are bad as well (see his statements on affirmative action).  

Bernie Sanders – I was a UVM Student when he became mayor. He has endorsed every Democrat since Mondale for President: mentioning him in the same breath as Nader is to misjudge Sanders.  I would vote for him, but I doubt he would be much more than a protest candidate. Make no mistake, even a protest candidate would be valuable in building a long term progressive organization.

Martin O’Malley.

More about O’Malley on the flip
This is O’Malley at a small event before his speech to the larger group of Portsmouth Democrats.  To his left is Governor Hassan and a NH State Senator.  To his right is Ray Buckley, chair of the NH Democratic Party.

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On paper there is much to like.  He is younger, there is a progressive record in both Baltimore and Maryland he can cite.  Moreover governors are freer to frame their own candidacy than Senators are.

This is the third time I have seen O’Malley: the first was in Charlotte in 2012, and he was unremarkable.  The second was at Jefferson & Jackson Dinner in Manchester. He essentially game the same speech in Portsmouth that he gave in Manchester.  It talked about how crime ridden Baltimore was when he became mayor. He then talked about a program called “believe”.  It began with a 4 minutes commercial than ran every night. The focus was on connecting people to social services.  It was interesting, and my brief description does not do it justice. Thematically it talked about the values of collaboration and community.  The speech was not ideological, it was very much an introduction to New Hampshire.  Certainly at an event like the one in Portsmouth 38 days before the election you aren’t going to draw contrasts with the Clintons.  

O’Malley is clearly running.  His PAC has paid staff in Iowa and New Hampshire.  There is clear interest from Hart alumni – I am one.  And the room in Portsmouth had many former Hart alumni. When I spoke to him we talked about another Hart alumni.  He knows the primary process. that national polling is irrelevant at this point, and that front runners can lose.

The problem is Hilary Clinton is not a typical front runner.  There is very little in Iowa and New Hampshire polling to suggest she is vulnerable. The picture I took was of a room of about 30 people.  That is New Hampshire politics until late next year.  In that light several people told me about a house party for Hilary with about 80 people.  She made sure she talked to everyone there – sought out the shier people in the crowd.  She then answered questions, and when the question was asked she answered in detail, and her answer began with the person’s name who had asked the question.  No, there were no name tags.

She blew the room away.  This is the reality. In New Hampshire remembering people’s name matters.  It shouldn’t, it should be about ideas.  It CAN be about ideas, but it will never be ONLY about ideas in Presidential Primary.

Which left a group of old Hart people wondering what O’Malley’s strategy could be.  To turn the line from Arthur Miller around, Hillary is not just liked, she is WELL liked in the Party. But is worth remembering this was an establishment gathering.  The people who might vote against Hilary weren’t in the room he was in on Friday night.  His target, like Hart’s in 1982, has to be the activists who aren’t part of the establishment.  

Hart understood that instinctively. Does O’Malley? I am not sure.  It’s not a question I would expect to be answered at an event like the one on Friday anyway.  O’Malley is a VERY different candidate than Hart.  For one O’Malley is twice the speaker Hart ever was.  Hart excelled in small rooms where he could talk about his issues. The candidates who have succeeded in New Hampshire as insurgents have tended to be wonkish types who could talk issues in detail (Hart, Tsongas come to mind).  I have no idea if O’Malley is good at that or not.

But the last thing that was said was probably the truest. 2015 isn’t about beating Hilary, it’s about beating the other potential alternatives.