Will Dem's prep ‘break glass’ emergency plan as Hillary tumbles? O'Malley Waits The Call?

Recent polling shows that if Hillary is not in free fall she certainly is declining sharply in them.

Smug journalists like WSJ's Bret Stephens triumphantly advised that "the rats are leaving the Trump yacht, what a spectacle" after Clinton's poll rise after the DNC. Politico's Alex Isenstadt had the forlorn GOP giving up altogether;

"Republicans prep ‘break glass’ emergency plan as Trump tumbles

Losing hope for the White House, the GOP is exploring a plan to cast congressional candidates as a check on President Hillary Clinton."

Well as all the triumphalism and blather has faded Clinton has declined 50% from her post DNC high and the rate of decline is accelerating. Five new polls have Trump leading in four and tied in one and that is before the latest explosive release of the FBI interview of " I don't remember"Clinton.

Clinton's health, her odd public speaking performances, the problems with her aide Huma Abedin's marriage, the sparsely attended and rare public meetings, her refusal to hold press conferences and her dismal approval ratings are, surely, contributing to this slide in her polls. The contrast with Trumps remarkable stamina must also raise questions about her fitness to hold office when the contrast is so stark.

If Clinton's health shows a striking decline and she is unable to continue or her polls drop so massively that down ticket Dem's are threatened what then? Will the DNC "break glass" and ease her out for 'health and family reasons."

If that happens who would head the ticket? Certainly not Sanders who at one time would have been the obvious choice but who announced he was leaving the Democratic party and becoming an Independent again. Biden has shown by his few campaign stops for Clinton that the is horrendous on the stump "that guy there has the nuclear codes" and would quickly become an object of fun.

Kaine? Kaine who?

Clearly the one person with a legitimate claim on the nomination would be the one who actually stumped up and ran in the primary campaign and that is of course Martin O'Malley. 

O'Malley performed credibly in the debates, has no apparent enemies and seems an honorable man. That he did poorly in the primary campaign can't be held against him as he was up against two headliners and the media ignored him.

It's early days in the Hillary decline and things may change but if there is a precipitate drop or major health issues O'Malley might well have his day as the only legitimate claimant for the candidacy under those circumstances.

NB; Since Isenstadt quotes "sources" it is only fitting that I include this "source' which may or may not be factual, but if it is it reinforces the premise.