O’Malley touts progressive values, experience, results

MOUNT VERNON - Selling himself as a progressive who gets things done, Martin O'Malley engaged in classic Iowa retail politics Thursday afternoon at a Mount Vernon house party.

O'Malley, who later had a campaign rally at Sanctuary Pub in Iowa City, emphasized his experience and record of getting things done as Baltimore mayor and two terms as Maryland governor.

'I am the only candidate in this race with 15 years of elected executive experience,” O'Malley said more than once during a 13-minute stump speech and about 20 minutes of question-and-answer.

That's important, he told more than 120 people who crowded into Nate and Maggie Willems' home, because 'getting things done matters.”

'It matters not only for the accomplishment of the task at hand, it matters for restoring the public trust necessary to build the deeper and larger consensus so we can start acting like Americans again,” O'Malley said.

O'Malley, 52, also drew a generational distinction between himself and the 'very honorable and good people” - Hillary Clinton, 67, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 73 - who also are seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

His perspective will 'speak to where our country is going rather than where our country has been,” O'Malley said.

His audience liked the merchandise, but for many it is too early to commit to a candidate.

'He's an impressive guy,” said Linda Yanney of Iowa City, who asked O'Malley about the disparate incarceration rates for blacks and whites. 'He could play well, but there's a lot of time between now” and the first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses scheduled for Feb. 1.

O'Malley offered 'the right ideas, progressive ideas,” said Terry Lessmeier of Mount Vernon and might be a nice fit compared with Sanders, 'who is not discreet, and Clinton, who is too discreet” in expressing progressive values.

That was part of O'Malley's sales pitch, too.

Voters who look at his record will see 'a fearless advancing of progressive goals and progressive values,” O'Malley said.

O'Malley, Lessmeier said, may have an advantage in that 'he's the most telegenic, and in today's world that's important.”

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