Posted by
Andrews on Monday, March 10, 2008 11:51:27 AM
As I watched the final episode of "The Wire" last night, I realized I had to thank HBO. Not for providing an entertaining show, though they did that. Not for a scathing (if a bit superficial) critique of the Baltimore Sun, though they did that too. No, I must thank HBO and "The Wire" for making absolutely sure we will never have to say the words "President Martin O'Malley".
Some may laugh at my fears of an O'Malley run for the White House, but it isn't that far fetched.
It is easy to forget now, in the wake of Obamania, but O'Malley once filled the same role Obama does today. When he spoke at the 2004 convention, it was obvious that O'Malley was being groomed to be the pretty face (and empty suit) of the Democrat Party. Having parleyed a marriage into a prominent political family into first the presidency of the Baltimore city council, then the mayor's office, and finally the governor's mansion, it seemed O'Malley was on the fast track to a top position in the Democrat party, perhaps even an eventual presidential run.
Of course, Obama came along, with a better pitch, a prettier face, and a broader appeal, and O'Malley found himself playing catch up, no longer the party's golden boy. But all of that could change in a moment. Should Obama lose the nomination, or, worse for Obama, lose the general election, his star would rapidly fade, and O'Malley could again find himself in the driver's seat.
Or he could, until HBO stepped in.
Starting with the miniseries "The Corner" and following that up with five seasons of "The Wire", HBO managed to paint Baltimore as a drug ridden cesspool, whose police department, crippled by political manipulation and corruption, was unable to handle the deluge of murders and the hordes of drug dealers that caused them. Unlike the relatively neutral portrayal of Baltimore in "Homicide", the HBO picture of Baltimore was extremely unkind, though also quite accurate. HBO began to show the rest of the nation the Baltimore residents knew, the city run by drug dealers, ruined by machine politics, with those who could fleeing as quickly as possible, while the rest simply tried to endure the crime and decaying infrastructure, without any hope of improvement.
But HBO went one step farther, which is why I thank them. They didn't only show the nation Baltimore as it really is, though that would have been enough to make an O'Malley run difficult, they came out and laid the mess at O'Malley's doorstep. Oh, they may have renamed him for the show, and they may pretend he is a fictional character, but anyone who lived in Baltimore can tell that it is O'Malley and no one else. And, more important, should O'Malley ever decide to run for higher office, the rest of the nation won't have any trouble identifying him either. HBO has painted a very clear picture of the O'Malley tenure as Mayor of Baltimore.
So, once again, I have to thank HBO. I know it is far from most minds at the moment, as Obama and Hillary loom large, but I do rest a little better knowing that, thanks to HBO, I will never have to worry that Martin O'Malley will think of running for the highest office in the land.