Martin O'Malley 2016-- The right kind of hawk.

[Koinos]

52. O'Malley is an uphill fighter.

From what I know about O'Malley, he is not afraid of uphill fights. And he will wage a positive campaign. I was deeply moved by and very, very impressed with his straightforward approach at Harvard last night. I consider myself very left of center and could find nothing to disagree with in his speech and answers to questions. He had an honest answer to questions about reparations and raising taxes in Maryland.

I am not a Christian, but I appreciate a Christian who talks about understanding rather than hate, inclusiveness rather than discrimination, the common good rather than private gain, future generations rather than "the me," the poor and middle class rather than the 1%.

I had thought that terms like "understanding" and the "common good" had almost disappeared from political discourse.

If you watch his almost stoic delivery and body language, you see a person who is convinced about what he believes and is deliberative and thoughtful in his decision-making.

His commitment to human rights is real. His commitment to collective bargaining is real. His commitment to higher pay for workers and progressive tax for the wealthy is real. His commitment to the environment is real.

He is a liberal Irish Catholic Christian. When is the last time we have seen one of those? He reads Thomas Merton in the morning and signs marriage equality later in the day. He is the kind of Christian that humanists like myself can work with and respect.

His record is not perfect, and I wish he had been stronger about fracking in Maryland. But, across the board, I prefer him as a candidate even when compared to Bernie and Elizabeth. His positions are like those of Bernie and Elizabeth, but his style is less strident and -- to me -- appears more presidential.

He even has a very "naive" Gary Cooper-like demeanor and speaking style which disguises a very strong intellect and will.

I signed on with DU because this apparently simple, but genuinely complex person has given me new hope.