O'Malley paints himself as candidate of the future.

Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley portrayed himself as a fresh alternative to the current Democratic field at two meet-and-greets in eastern Iowa on Sunday.

At the Musser Public Library in Muscatine, O’Malley focused on his campaign’s 15 strategic goals and the progressive reforms he put in place as governor of Maryland while painting himself as the candidate of the future.

“The discerning people of Iowa usually narrow it to a choice between the past and the future,” he told the group of 40 when recounting working for Gary Hart’s primary campaign against Walter Mondale in the 1984 election cycle.

“What I hear from voters is pretty consistent; people are looking for an alternative to this year’s inevitable front-runner and people believe very firmly that we need new leadership.”

O’Malley reiterated this message at the Jersey Grille in Davenport and also criticized his own party for what he described as turning a “blind eye” to Wall Street, calling for the reinstitution of the Glass–Steagall Act.

“There are a few things we need to stop doing as a party. …We need to stop turning a blind eye to irresponsible, reckless, sometimes criminal behavior on Wall Street,” O’Malley said to an applauding crowd.

“For 70 years we separated commercial banking from speculative banking, and we need to do it again by passing Glass-Steagall.”

Those interviewed by The Des Moines Register were impressed by what O’Malley had to say, but some had reservations.

“I’m really impressed with his presentation and all the things he said,” said Chris Clark, a retired teacher from Muscatine.

“I was very impressed with his remarks about domestic policies,” said Rabbi Henry Karp of Davenport. “However, I was unimpressed by his foreign policy remarks. A president can’t just be strong domestically, he has to be strong in terms of foreign policy."

CROWDS: There were 40 people at the event in Muscatine, 60 at the one in Davenport.

RECEPTION: Both crowds were extremely enthusiastic, applauding and laughing many times during O’Malley’s remarks.

WHAT'S NEXT: This was the last day of a two-day, five-stop swing through the state. He will be attending the #UniteIowa on Immigration Forum at Buena Vista University on Saturday.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/08/23/omalley-paints-himself-candidate-future/32242169/