O'Malley jabs at Clinton over Syrian refugees.

'Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley criticized front-runner Hillary Clinton on Wednesday for waiting weeks to call on the White House to accept more refugees fleeing violence in Syria.

The former Maryland governor also said Clinton's path to the Democratic nomination seemed "no longer quite so inevitable," and that voters want clarity from their politicians rather than the "triangulation" politics of the first Clinton administration.

Clinton said Sunday that the U.S. should accept 65,000 of the millions of Syrians who have been displaced by that country's civil war. O'Malley made the same argument, citing the same number, in early September.

It's kind of the pattern of this campaign: We lead, and she follows public opinion polls," O'Malley said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun. "I believe there's a big difference between forging a new consensus and putting your finger to the wind."

O'Malley's early support for resettling Syrians in the U.S. not only reflects his efforts to be a leading voice on immigration and refugee issues — he drew national attention last year for opposing the deportation of Central American children — but also efforts to garner attention for his fledgling campaign. . .

The Democrat has weighed in first on a range of high-profile matters, offering detailed policy proposals on Wall Street regulations and student debt, for instance. While Clinton announced her opposition to the Keystone XL oil pipeline on Tuesday, O'Malley said he was against it back in November.

Several observers agreed that O'Malley has beaten both Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to the punch on some issues. The question for O'Malley, they said, is whether anyone is noticing.

"For whatever reason, he's been left out of the media mix," said Democratic strategist Brad Bannon. "Very few Democrats out there know he exists."

But, Bannon said, raising the issues is smart strategy, particularly as Clinton's campaign has shown signs of vulnerability. "There are a lot of Democrats out there who are floating, looking for an alternative," he said.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-omalley-clinton-refugees-20150923-story.html