Martin O'Malley

If there really is a rising populist tide on the left of the Democratic party, then it can't simply be Bernie Sanders. If there really is a rising populist tide, there should be a robust debate to the left of Hillary Rodham Clinton between a number of candidates. Otherwise, the whole thing becomes a cult of personality, and those are far too easily dismissed. At the very least, this rising tide should lift both Sanders and O'Malley, but it hasn't, at least not by any conventional campaign metric. And what probablty will result will be a distressing pissing match between the two progressive candidates that helps nobody except the frontunner.