In NH, O’Malley touts turnaround record

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) touted his record as Baltimore mayor and governor in a swing through New Hampshire, the latest sign he’s considering a potential presidential run in 2016.

{mosads}O’Malley, speaking at the annual fundraising dinner for New Hampshire Democratic Party, argued America’s current struggles mirror those he faced when he took over Baltimore and later won Maryland’s governorship.

“Like in Baltimore in 1999, we as Americans are going through a cynical time of disbelief, a time with more excuses and ideology than cooperation or action,” he said in the speech. “We seem to have lost the shared conviction we once had that we actually have the ability to make things better together. There is a big difference between the America we carry in our hearts, and the America we see in our headlines.”

O’Malley has said he’s interested in a presidential bid. But his campaign — and any Democrat’s — is overshadowed by the potential run of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is the heavy favorite early on to win the nomination, and O’Malley aides indicate a campaign is much less likely if Clinton does run.

The governor portrays himself as a sunny technocrat who brought crime down in Baltimore by using data-driven methods. An introductory video says “things that get measured are things that get done,” and says his tenure brought about “the greatest 10-year reduction [in crime] of any U.S. city” before, as governor, trimming Maryland’s budget, helping improve its schools and legalizing gay marriage.

Watch the introductory video here.