海角大神

The race for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination just got broader and more interesting.

Martin O鈥橫alley, former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor, formally tossed his hat into the ring Saturday 鈥� ideologically somewhere between former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and with an emphasis on his relative youth (52), at least compared to the other two declared hopefuls (67 and 73, respectively).

鈥淢artin O鈥橫alley聽ought to be a Democrat鈥檚 dream candidate,鈥� Molly Ball in December. 鈥淚n two terms as the governor of Maryland, he鈥檚 ushered in a sweeping liberal agenda that includes gay marriage, gun control, an end to the death penalty, and in-state college tuition for undocumented immigrants. He鈥檚 trim and handsome; he plays in an Irish rock band; he even served as the basis for a character on聽The Wire.鈥澛�

At the moment, however, he barely registers in polls 鈥� 0.8 percent at the tail end of a list of seven names mentioned, according to the . Even Republican-turned-Independent-turned-Democrat Lincoln Chaffee (expected to announce June 3) does better.

What鈥檚 more, Mr. O鈥橫alley starts out with other big challenges, a main one being the (so far) lack of big-time political funders.

And : 鈥淭he run-up to his launch here could hardly have been worse, complicated in recent weeks by unrest in the city where he served as mayor and the unexpected early momentum of another Hillary Clinton challenger: Bernie Sanders鈥�. who so far has captured the imagination of progressives looking for a Clinton alternative.鈥�

In the Senate, Mr. Sanders caucuses with Democrats, although he calls himself a 鈥渄emocratic socialist鈥� and is running for president as an Independent. For now, at least, he鈥檚 got progressives fired up, especially since Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has made it absolutely, positively, unequivocally clear that she鈥檚 not running. (She still comes in number two behind Clinton in that polling average.)

Then there鈥檚 the recent unrest and riots in the city he once led over the death in police custody of Freddie Gray, an unarmed black man picked for what seems like a minor (or nonexistent) charge. 鈥淥n Saturday, protesters blaming O鈥橫alley for 鈥榩olice brutality鈥� continuously attempted to interrupt the speech with shouting and whistling,鈥� Politico reports.

None of this deters O鈥橫alley, who 鈥� jacket off, shirt sleeves rolled up 鈥� announced Saturday under a bright, blue Baltimore sky.

鈥淭oday, the American dream seems for so many of us to be hanging by a thread,鈥� in the lofty rhetoric required of candidates entering a presidential race. 鈥淚t does not have to be this way. This generation of Americans still has time to become great. We must save our country now. And we will do that by rebuilding the dream.鈥�

鈥淭his generation,鈥� of course is his generation, not the generation of Clinton and Sanders.

Noting that Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein recently told his employees that he鈥檇 be happy with either Clinton or Republican front-runner Jeb Bush as president, O鈥橫alley took a swipe at both.

鈥淚've got news for the bullies of Wall Street,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he presidency is not a crown to be passed back and forth by you between two royal families.鈥�

O鈥橫alley has been a full-time politician all his adult life. As a college undergrad (Catholic University), he worked for Gary Hart鈥檚 presidential campaign, and while in law school (University of Maryland), he was state director for US Rep. Barbara Mikulski鈥檚 successful run for the US Senate. But his lack of Washington experience could be a plus (as it is with such Republicans as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker).

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of hostility out there towards Washington right now,鈥� Democratic strategist Brad Bannon . 鈥淗e could run as the anti-Washington candidate, as someone who hasn鈥檛 been tainted by Washington politics, while framing Hillary and Bernie as products of D.C. culture.鈥�

Many toward the left end of the Democratic Party spectrum are happy to see O鈥橫alley join the presidential fray.

"Martin O'Malley's entrance into the race will be one more factor that incentivizes a race to the top on economic populism issues,鈥� the Progressive聽Change聽Campaign聽Committee, which claims nearly one million members, said in a statement. 鈥淗e has already taken strong stands in favor of聽debt-free聽college,聽expanding Social Security聽benefits, and聽Wall Street reform 鈥� and so far is the only candidate to be outspoken about accountability for Wall Street bankers who committed crimes and crashed our economy.聽The more Democrats compete to be the biggest hero on popular issues like these, the better it will be for Democrats and for America."

After his announcement speech Saturday, O鈥橫alley headed for Iowa.

鈥淗illary is still the overwhelming favorite and almost certain nominee,鈥� Steve McMahon, another Democratic strategist, told The Hill. 鈥淏ut in a field where she鈥檚 getting 52 percent support, that still leaves about 47 percent that someone could theoretically consolidate. The question is whether there鈥檚 enough room for someone like O鈥橫alley and whether he can execute.鈥�