O'Malley to meet with black leaders in South Carolina next week.

[elleng]

Columbia, South Carolina (CNN)Martin O'Malley will head to South Carolina early next week after being invited by the black leadership group 20/20 Leaders of America, the O'Malley campaign confirmed to CNN on Monday.

Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, who is the city's first black mayor, and councilman Brian Newman will host the presidential candidate next Tuesday morning for a "listening session," the first in a series of events the group will host in South Carolina during the primary cycle, according to an invitation obtained by CNN. . .

This will mark the former Maryland governor's first official campaign appearance in South Carolina since he announced his presidential bid in May. He briefly paid his respects during a funeral for state Sen. Clementa Pinckney at the South Carolina statehouse in June following his death in the racially-motivated church shooting in Charleston that month.

Since officially joining the race, the former governor has focused the bulk of his campaigning efforts in Iowa.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/27/politics/martin-omalley-black-lives-matter/index.html

[askew]

1. Really curious to how this meeting goes.

I expect a big speech on criminal justice issues soon. I'd like to see him get out in front on this issue because he is going to get smeared with Baltimore and The Wire BS again. I'd like that out before the fall debates start so it can be old news.

[MH1]

2. I would love to see some informative graphics

highlighting achievements such as those mentioned in bigtree's post here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251477409#post3

There are many things there that could be highlighted graphically. But I think especially important would be if there are any metrics related to handling of police brutality complaints.

[askew]

4. That's a good idea.

I think O'Malley needs to do a better job explaining that his policies were embraced by the people of Baltimore. He won his two terms and primaries based on tough on crime platforms. People were sick of the violence and open-drug markets destroying Baltimore and O'Malley made the city safer.

[Raine1967]

3. Good. He's engaged as he always is.

The thing that bothered me about the NRN incident (for lack of a better word — seriously — it happened and it needed to happen IMO) was that so many in the MSM tossed Sanders and O'Malley into a pool of something that was a mess.

O'Malley really was the one that was caught off guard. HE wasn't really at his best moment.

HE was also very quick to make it clear that he didn't mean to dismiss the BLM movement. It bothers me that people are willing to dismiss that he came back to Baltimore when the riots were happening. He knows BLM.

I do not expect the greater forums to see that, but it bugs me that this isn't generally acknowledged.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. + 1

He feels comfortable walking into the worst situation.

[Koinos]

7. He is guided by principle, not by public opinion polls.

He has said that many times about himself, and I absolutely agree with him.

He is not deterred or driven to anger by hecklers, negative press, or uninformed criticism.

I admire and envy his courage and grace under fire.

When he apologized, he wasn't caving; he was listening and learning from criticism.

He views negative criticism as a stimulus for growth.

Somebody should do a psychological profile of this guy and clarify why he has the character and temperament, as well as the energy, to be president.

He is lots more than a list of positions and even a resume of accomplishments.

He is a rock-solid human being with brains and a heart.

[elleng]

10. SO RIGHT, Koinos!

THANK YOU!

[elleng]

9. but he ran with it and responded, first NICELY and then WELL, Raine.

Sure as hell should be generally acknowledged.

[JustAnotherGen]

6. Only good can come from this

Im less interested in hearing a speech - and more interested in what he learns from the meeting.

[Koinos]

8. I'm optimistic, since he is one heck of a listener.

But there is so much to learn. To understand and to take to heart the experience of black leaders in South Carolina would probably take several lifetimes of dialogue.

I'm sure he will do his best. The results will be imperfect, but praiseworthy.