DARK HORSE? – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:   Hillary is getting wobbly.  Yes, she's still well ahead of anyone else for the Dem nomination, but reports across the web indicate that many Democrats are becoming uneasy with her "inevitability."  They're almost getting used to waiting for the next scandal, the next explanation, the next plea to "move on." 

If Hillary falters, the Dems have no obvious replacement.  Hillary set herself up as the queen-to-be, with no other contenders welcome.  But a few faces are starting to emerge.  Whether they'll last the week is another story.  From Fox: 

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is emerging as a potential challenger to Hillary Clinton for the party’s 2016 presidential nomination but appears unwilling, at least for now, to mount a head-on challenge to the front-running Clinton.

O’Malley on Friday night at a Democratic fundraiser in key voting state New Hampshire declined to discuss two Clinton controversies -- donations to the Clinton Foundation and her use of a private email accounts -- much less use them to his political advantage.

“I like Hillary Clinton. I respect Secretary Clinton. I am not here to talk about Secretary Clinton," O’Malley said when asked after his speech about the foundation accepting large donations from foreign countries in the two years since Clinton left her post as secretary of state.

Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have long been supportive of O’Malley, who reportedly got Hillary Clinton’s blessing to run for the White House as far back as 2013.

You need her blessing?

O’Malley’s speech Friday at the Merrimack County Democrats fundraiser in Concord, N.H., marks his first visit to the state since the midterm elections. He last visited New Hampshire in October to campaign on behalf of Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, who won re-election.

Clinton, also a former New York senator, has been the presumptive Democratic 2016 presidential nominee since polling started as far back as 2012, though she has yet to announce whether she is running.

With roughly 44 percent of the potential vote, formidable fundraising might and campaign infrastructure, Clinton has essentially cleared the field of potential primary challengers.

COMMENT:  O'Malley has kept his name before the political press for years, always with a hint that the presidency is in his sights.  But, aside from Hillary standing in his way, he has two major problems.  First, the Democratic Party is now a party of groups.  It has bought into the whole race, gender and ethnicity game, and the party is ready to nominate a woman.  There'll be a great sense of dismay among much of the base if it turns to another white guy.

Second, O'Malley committed one of the great sins of politics.  He wasn't able to elect is anointed successor.  Maryland is one of the most Democratic states in the Union, but now has a Republican governor, who succeeded O'Malley just recently.  That is no feather in O'Malley's cap.  It will be held against him. 

Other than that, the guy is in great shape.

March 8,  2015