When I compare the campaign structures and media coverage of Martin O’Malley and Hillary Clinton I get a distinct impression. The image I have is of O’Malley rowing a dingy in the Gulf of Mexico while just off the horizon a tropical storm is gathering strength and bearing down on him. Whatever he may think he’s doing by scheduling appearances in Iowa and New Hampshire, his efforts are going to be swamped. Team Hillary is already enormous and this isn’t going to be an even match or test of ideas.
Now, Jim Webb may or may not get into the race. If he does, he’ll make things interesting by tacking to Hillary’s left on foreign policy while trying to make the case for moving the party away from its existing majority (presidential) base of support in a quest to do better with white working class voters. I’m not sure quite how that will manifest itself on the domestic issues, but I suspect Webb will be occupying a rightward position, especially when compared to O’Malley.
Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders would bring a completely different sensibility to the race, but one that would track fairly closely with O’Malley on most issues. I don’t know that Clinton will want to do too many debates with these three gentlemen. None of them can really challenge her financially or organizationally, but none of them are the kind of lightweight tomato cans that have filled out Republican campaigns in the last three cycles.
Despite this, I wonder if they’ll really be able to have much influence on the nation’s politics at all. If one of them were to galvanize the progressive left, they might get some delegates at the convention and have some influence that way. They could possibly force themselves onto the ticket as a way of bringing the party back together. But, right now, even these modest ambitions seem out of reach. The primary season hasn’t even begun but, on the Democratic side, it already appears to be over.
