Buried in the latest disclosure dump of State Hillary Clinton's private emails is a fascinating back-and-forth the former Secretary of State had with Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski in which the two Democrats discuss then Gov. Martin O'Malley.
In an April 2010 email, Clinton tells Mikulski that she "loved" the senator's comments at the launch of her reelection campaign and that she hoped "you've scared off all the would-be opponents."
"How's our friend, Martin, doing?" Clinton continues in the email. "I know he has a rematch when he should be reelected by acclamation for steering the ship of state so well. Pls give him my best wishes."
O'Malley, who is now running against Clinton for the Democratic nomination, has remained mum about the Clinton e-mail scandal so far. But the nugget of praise from Clinton was apparently too good to ignore. O'Malley's campaign sent a fundraising email about the exchange Tuesday, noting he was "flattered" by Clinton's comments.
Mikulski responded by thanking Clinton for the email, and noting that "alas, my gain has given O'Malley his nemesis," meaning former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican who challenged O'Malley to a rematch for the governor's office that year.
"But Dem. Md. will be like NATO. An attack on one an attack on all," Mikulski said, noting that she was "zipping" around the state and tweeting at the time.