If there’s one thing you can say for former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, it’s that he’s got that fire in the belly. Can’t coach this kind of cutthroat instinct. He’s the Ndamukong Suh of the fantasy primary draft. Grab him before he’s gone:

Standing in front of a hotel emblazoned with Donald J. Trump’s name in Las Vegas, Martin O’Malley on Wednesday said that the constant questions about Hillary Rodham Clinton’s email use was a distraction for the entire Democratic Party.

Mr. O’Malley, a former Maryland governor who is challenging Mrs. Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, suggested the party was becoming defined by the email issue.

“I think it is a huge distraction from what we should be talking about as a party,” Mr. O’Malley said, according to a report by CNN.

“We need to start having debates in the Democratic Party,” he said. “And we need to have an exchange of ideas of the things we can do to raise wages, to increase the minimum wage, to pay overtime pay for overtime work, to rebuild our country’s infrastructure.”

“Until we do, our party’s label is going to be the latest news de jour about emails and email servers and what Secretary Clinton knew and when she knew it,” he said. “What I want to know is what our party has to offer our county to make our economy work and wages go up.”

O’Malley, fighter, allows that the e-mail issue is a legitimate one, but posits that the party should just somehow avoid talking about it even though he admits to finding the whole thing at least mildly problematic.

Bernie Sanders is also landing no blows, preferring to obliquely criticize his cronied up, uber-rich, super-PACed, scandal-ridden opponent to his throngs of admirers. Check out these sharp arguments. Don’t cut yourself!

–”You’re looking at one of the very few presidential candidates who does not have a super PAC,” he said…

–”You are looking at a former member of Congress who voted against the war in Iraq.”…

–”Our campaign has kind of taken the political establishment a little bit by surprise.”

And, these are the ones who actually had the gumption to jump in the race in the first place. They are the bravest the party has to offer. And, presumably, they’re the best-prepared for the national stage:

.@RalstonReports totally stumps O'Malley on a key issue in NV: Gaming. "I should have prepped for this," MOM says.

— Dan Merica (@merica) August 20, 2015

But a hero shall emerge. And, his name shall be Deez Nuts:

Presidential candidate ‘Deez Nuts’ is actually a 15-year-old from Iowa: http://t.co/Qo0coxy4Nc pic.twitter.com/9PQMj41tOc

— The Hill (@thehill) August 20, 2015