O’Malley: Democrats should have robust debate before nominating candidate

JOHNSTON — Reacting to news that Hillary Clinton is likely to officially enter the presidential race this weekend, Democrat Martin O'Malley said he will continue to offer himself as a forward-looking candidate with the experience and ideas 'to govern and move the country forward.'

'I think our party and our country would be well-served by a robust debate about the questions and the answers that we have to provide in order to move our country forward and fix what's still ailing our economy,' O'Malley said in response to questions about how the anticipated entry of Clinton into the race for the 2016 presidential nomination will affect his plans. O'Malley has indicated he will make a decision about becoming a candidate later this spring.

The former two-term governor of Maryland made his comments during the taping of Iowa Press, which can be seen at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Friday) and noon Sunday on Iowa Public Television, 8:30 a.m. Saturday on IPTV World and at www.iptv.org beginning this evening.

O'Malley declined to say that Clinton, who he supported in 2008, is yesterday's candidate, but said the Democratic Party always has a 'gravitational pull' toward the future.

'Our party is always looking for new voices and new perspectives to help us solve our problems,' O'Malley said.

While he believed in 2008 that Clinton was the best choice for the presidency, O'Malley said 'times have changed.'

'I believe that we need to have a robust issues debate in our party about the sort of leadership that is required right now for our country,' he said. 'I think the larger issues in this race will be which candidate has the frameworks and the ideas that will allow and make sure that wages start rising again.'

He doesn't expect Iowans simply will fall in line behind Clinton.

'There's very often, especially in our party, an inevitable front-runner right up until that front-runner is no longer inevitable,' he said.

'When the people in Iowa have the opportunity to see all of the candidates, usually two or three times, ask them questions, see how they engage on good days and bad days, they make up their own mind,' he said.

O'Malley and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb will speak Friday night at a Polk County Democratic Party event.