WASHINGTON POST COLUMN: “It’s a pleasure to be here with all of you to talk about data-driven governing, an issue that is near and dear to my heart,” [Former Maryland governor Martin] O’Malley declared Wednesday at the Brookings Institution, where he was giving one of several policy speeches as part of his still-undeclared presidential campaign rollout. “This, my fellow citizens, is a new way over governing. . . . It’s not about left or right, it’s about doing the things that work.”
When he finished his talk about infant mortality and oysters, recidivism and lead poisoning, I told him it all sounds wonderful — just not the sort of thing that propels one to the presidency. His spokeswoman, Lis Smith, must agree, because she tracked me down after the speech to assure me O’Malley talks about many things. But O’Malley himself defended his passion for management-by-statistics. “I think people are actually far more interested in a functioning government and effective governance and people with executive experience than we might give them credit for,” he said.
In an ideal world, that would be true. But primaries are driven by ideology — and O’Malley is running as a technocrat. There’s theoretically an opening for a challenger to Clinton: This week’s NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll found that 63 percent of Democratic primary voters are satisfied with their choices, compared with 77 percent at this point in 2007. That’s likely because few see an alternative to Clinton. Only 11 percent say they could see themselves voting for O’Malley — and 67 percent don’t know who he is. Take away Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, who appear not to be running, and other possible challengers to Clinton fare little better… (more)
