AT FIRST BLUSH, Gov. Martin O'Malley's May 9 endorsement of Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination seemed impulsive. After all, the 44-year-old former mayor of Baltimore, who restored Maryland to one-party-state status last November when he ousted Republican incumbent Robert Ehrlich, presided over an unremarkable and cautious first legislative session in Annapolis earlier this year. Four years ago, O'Malley had hopped on the Howard Dean bandwagon when it was fashionable, although he was canny enough to ingratiate himself with eventual nominee John Kerry. Still, O'Malley did well enough with Kerry that he was given a speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention and it was thought he'd withhold an endorsement this time around until it was clear which candidate could best help his national political ambitions.
But as observers of O'Malley's career can attest to, there's a striking difference between the bold, sometimes reckless politician and largely passive administrator.
DESPITE the populist rhetoric that O'Malley spouted during his campaign last fall--about reversing the supposed pro-business excesses of Ehrlich's one-term administration--his accomplishments were few. He disappointed liberals by not immediately punishing corporations and wealthy individuals by raising their taxes; his effort to repeal capital punishment failed; and perhaps the most significant bill to pass was one banning smoking in bars and restaurants--hardly an original measure in 21st century America.
In addition, O'Malley is now under fire for his inability to stop a 72 percent hike in BG&E electricity rates, which took effect June 1. People who live in the greater Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area might remember one of O'Malley's television advertisements last fall which said, "The special interests already have their governor [Ehrlich]. We need one of our own. Martin O'Malley is taking on BGE to stop the rate hike." The Baltimore Examiner ran an acidic editorial on June 4, saying, "If [O'Malley] truly believed he could stop a rate hike, he is delusional. If he did not believe and spewed the lie as a campaign ploy, he is a deceiver."
Never mind that O'Malley is in a real pickle over the projected $1.5 billion budget deficit that will require him to make massive cuts in the state's bureaucracy and raise property and sales taxes. And then, to the consternation of the Baltimore Sun, his virtual mouthpiece since becoming mayor in 1999, there is the matter of O'Malley embracing his predecessor's most controversial policy initiative: the expansion of legalized gambling in Maryland (mostly in the form of slot machines).
The ambitious and charismatic O'Malley is strikingly like Bill Clinton, far more interested pressing flesh and looking ahead than actually working at his current job. So his early foray into next year's presidential contest isn't that surprising. It's certainly preferable to sparring with Democratic legislative leaders over the budget. O'Malley isn't at all close with state Senate President Mike Miller, one of the few Democrats who sided with Ehrlich in the slots controversy and who is backing John Edwards for 2008.
WHEN O'MALLEY formally endorsed Clinton in Annapolis earlier this year, joining only New Jersey's Jon Corzine as a sitting governor to back New York's junior senator, his remarks were boilerplate and more notable for the buzz they created in Maryland about a hidden desire he might harbor for being her vice presidential pick. His uninspiring words of endorsement: "We are in immediate need of a strong leader of intelligence, of insight, of toughness and understanding. Standing with me today is that leader, Hillary Rodham Clinton."
Obviously, O'Malley could have mouthed the same platitudes about Obama or Edwards; that he chose Clinton is a sign of the political calculus he's done. If Clinton survives the nastiness between her campaign and Obama's--and possibly that of Al Gore's--O'Malley, at least on paper, is a suitable match for the former first lady. It's not a matter of geography--Maryland hasn't voted for a Republican in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan's 1984 landslide--but rather the energy, youth, and positive media attention that O'Malley would bring to the ticket. And as the handsome, guitar-playing governor of a border state who has four young children and a wife who's a judge and daughter of Maryland's former attorney general, the photo-ops would satisfy any political consultant.
O'Malley isn't wasting any time promoting Clinton's candidacy. He helped the senator raise $500,000 at a Baltimore County fundraiser in mid-June, and, more importantly, stood in as her surrogate at a New Hampshire Democratic state convention two weeks earlier. As reported in the Sun, Sylvia B. Larsen--president of New Hampshire's Senate--said of O'Malley, "[He] has all the right characteristics. He's personable. He's nice to talk to and nice to look at." Although the Sun's reporter dutifully noted the complaints of Maryland Republicans that the governor was off on a jaunt instead of working on the budget, there was a whopper of a softball quote from one of the attendees at the affair.
"I've heard of Governor O'Malley, the great things he did as mayor of Baltimore, and I've heard him mentioned as presidential material. I've had a very favorable impression of him." That glowing assessment came from Boaz Chandrasekhar, an 18-year-old student at the Philips Exeter Academy.
One assumes, if Chandrasekhar researched O'Malley's record, Baltimore's homicide rate--second only to Detroit--wouldn't be considered one of the "great things" that occurred during O'Malley's tenure as mayor. And John Edwards would have a field day describing the "Two Baltimores"--one that's known for its prosperous Inner Harbor tourist attractions, the other for a miserable public school system and rampant violence fueled by the narcotics trade.
ALTHOUGH not as smart (intellectually or politically) as Bill Clinton, O'Malley does share some characteristics that could work in his favor on the national stage. Like Clinton, in person O'Malley charms people and makes them believe they're the only ones in the room. Also, his White House aspirations were evident even as a very young man; O'Malley first got his hands dirty working for Gary Hart's New Hampshire primary campaign in 1984.
Unlike the lawyerly President Clinton, he is prone to verbal gaffes. During the 2004 Democratic convention in Boston, O'Malley said that while he was still worried about al Qaeda, "I'm even more worried about the actions and inactions of the Bush administration." The following February, speaking before the National Press Club in Washington, O'Malley likened one of President Bush's budget proposals to the terrorist attacks of September 11. "[W]ith a budget ax, [Bush] is attacking America's cities. He is attacking our metropolitan core."
At the time, O'Malley was forced to back away from those incendiary comments. On the other hand, perhaps this is selling the governor's political instincts short: Given the irrational hatred of Bush among base Democrats maybe that sort of rhetoric will be seen as a bona fide for Hillary Clinton if she should be fortunate enough to need a running mate next summer.
Russ Smith, who founded three weekly newspapers, is a writer living in Baltimore.