Clinton may have had the most supporters in the room, and Sanders' populist fury stirred the most anticipation. But if there had been impartial judges giving scores, O'Malley would have been the clear winner — and a sound meter probably would have confirmed it. His lines about redeeming the American Dream and promoting a stronger middle class are standard fare. His selling point was: "I am the only candidate for president with 15 years of executive experience." He stands out, he said, for turning "progressive values into action."

This was where his earnest speech became impassioned, his voice rising over building cheers: "In Baltimore, we took action to save lives by reducing record-high violence to record lows. We increased drug treatment to free thousands of our courageous neighbors from the scourge of drug addiction. ... Driver's licenses for new American immigrants, marriage equality and a ban on assault weapons: and we didn't just talk about it, we actually got it done!" On his mayoral record, O'Malley can point to documented changes that, in the post-Ferguson, Mo., era, seem incompatible. Overall crime fell more in Baltimore than in any other big city. At the same time, shootings by police dropped sharply.

And he seems to enjoy the part of the campaign that involves chatting and posing for selfies with voters. At the nearby White Star Ale House, before the dinner, I arrived 10 minutes early for his "meet-and-greet," only to find O'Malley already working a crowd whose numbers would have alarmed the fire marshal. He was still at it when I left an hour later.

Does any of this matter in a race against two far more famous candidates? Maybe not. He lacks Clinton's money and incomparable name recognition, and he lacks Sanders' visceral appeal to the Occupy Wall Street crowd. His narrow path to victory lies in convincing Democrats he's a fresh alternative to the recycled Clinton, but unlike Sanders can be elected.

Clinton may have had the most supporters in the room, and Sanders' populist fury stirred the most anticipation. But if there had been impartial judges giving scores, O'Malley would have been the clear winner — and a sound meter probably would have confirmed it. His lines about redeeming the American Dream and promoting a stronger middle class are standard fare. His selling point was: "I am the only candidate for president with 15 years of executive experience." He stands out, he said, for turning "progressive values into action."

This was where his earnest speech became impassioned, his voice rising over building cheers: "In Baltimore, we took action to save lives by reducing record-high violence to record lows. We increased drug treatment to free thousands of our courageous neighbors from the scourge of drug addiction. ... Driver's licenses for new American immigrants, marriage equality and a ban on assault weapons: and we didn't just talk about it, we actually got it done!" On his mayoral record, O'Malley can point to documented changes that, in the post-Ferguson, Mo., era, seem incompatible. Overall crime fell more in Baltimore than in any other big city. At the same time, shootings by police dropped sharply.

And he seems to enjoy the part of the campaign that involves chatting and posing for selfies with voters. At the nearby White Star Ale House, before the dinner, I arrived 10 minutes early for his "meet-and-greet," only to find O'Malley already working a crowd whose numbers would have alarmed the fire marshal. He was still at it when I left an hour later.

Does any of this matter in a race against two far more famous candidates? Maybe not. He lacks Clinton's money and incomparable name recognition, and he lacks Sanders' visceral appeal to the Occupy Wall Street crowd. His narrow path to victory lies in convincing Democrats he's a fresh alternative to the recycled Clinton, but unlike Sanders can be elected.

The Augusta Chronicle reports that Florida mom Rhiannon Gentry abandoned three children at a 24-hour Waffle House, so that she could go booze it up at the classily-named bar Wild Wings Cafe across the street.

Two of the children were 12, one was 11. Police were summoned to the Waffle House after other diners began complaining that they could hear children crying in the parking lot. A Waffle House waitress told cops that Ms. Gentry left her kids alone for an hour and a half, with money to order food and beverages. When the kids realized they didn’t have enough money to pay for their meal and mom was nowhere to be found, they started crying. Gentry didn't return to check on them.

The Augusta, Georgia Waffle House location where this sad story went down has great reviews, and looks like a great place to sit down and enjoy a meal with your kids. Or, you know, abandon them to go drinking.

The most important thing that we as a people need to get done is to restore the truth of the American dream: that when people work hard, they should be able to get ahead. That dream is in danger of becoming a lie for the vast majority of Americans who see their families slipping further behind. Making it true again will require us to return to the better choices we long made as a country – and to fundamentally rebalance our economy so that it works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. My administration would focus first and foremost on raising wages, not only by increasing the minimum wage, but by strengthening collective bargaining and securing comprehensive immigration reform. At the same time, my administration would hold Wall Street accountable, ending the decades of deregulation that wrecked our economy and accumulated wealth at the top like almost never before. By asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share, I would restore investments in the future of our country — most especially in our students, teachers, and schools.

These choices require better leadership and the ability to get things done. I have 15 years of executive experience, and I have never backed down from a fight. I fought to make these better choices in Maryland, where we put the goal of a stronger middle class at the center of every decision we made. And as a result, we made Maryland one of the top states for upward mobility for families, with the highest median income in the nation, and – since the depths of the recession – a faster rate of job creation than our neighbors in Virginia or Maryland who were mostly trying to cut their way to prosperity. These are the goals we should be setting for our nation, and I believe that with will and leadership we can achieve them.

The most important thing that we as a people need to get done is to restore the truth of the American dream: that when people work hard, they should be able to get ahead. That dream is in danger of becoming a lie for the vast majority of Americans who see their families slipping further behind. Making it true again will require us to return to the better choices we long made as a country – and to fundamentally rebalance our economy so that it works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. My administration would focus first and foremost on raising wages, not only by increasing the minimum wage, but by strengthening collective bargaining and securing comprehensive immigration reform. At the same time, my administration would hold Wall Street accountable, ending the decades of deregulation that wrecked our economy and accumulated wealth at the top like almost never before. By asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share, I would restore investments in the future of our country — most especially in our students, teachers, and schools.

These choices require better leadership and the ability to get things done. I have 15 years of executive experience, and I have never backed down from a fight. I fought to make these better choices in Maryland, where we put the goal of a stronger middle class at the center of every decision we made. And as a result, we made Maryland one of the top states for upward mobility for families, with the highest median income in the nation, and – since the depths of the recession – a faster rate of job creation than our neighbors in Virginia or Maryland who were mostly trying to cut their way to prosperity. These are the goals we should be setting for our nation, and I believe that with will and leadership we can achieve them.