O’Malley was brusque in doing so. The Democrat — who considers himself a dedicated environmentalist and is weighing a White House run in 2016 — is typically spirited and engaged during these often-long meetings, asking questions, cracking jokes and, at least once, taking a moment to share a piece of poetry. But on Wednesday, he was terse and often lacked patience as the meeting went over the two hours he had allotted.
O’Malley opened the meeting by saying that he has often seen simple permits take on “cosmic” importance because they are tangentially connected to a larger, more controversial issue.
“This is one of those days,” he said without smiling.