Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley took a shot at Hillary Clinton's flip-flop on the Keystone XL Pipeline Friday night at the Democratic Candidates Forum in South Carolina, saying her leadership was called into question when she came around to opposing it so late in the public debate.
O'Malley applauded when moderator Rachel Maddow led her question by announcing President Obama's rejection of the Keystone Pipeline, formally announced Friday afternoon.
"Every Democratic candidate, you and Senator Sanders, Secretary Clinton, now publicly oppose Keystone," Maddow said.
"Yeah, but Secretary Clinton got there just last week, and I was against it a year ago," O'Malley said.
"And is that important?" Maddow asked. "You're on the same page now. Why is that important?"
"I think it's important because I think leadership isn't about following polls," O'Malley said. "I think leadership's about being clear about your principles and bringing people together on them."
Clinton hedged for months before finally coming out against Keystone this fall as opposition to it increased in the Democratic Party. MSNBC host Chuck Todd said earlier Friday that the environmental left had shoved Clinton, who led review of the measure at the State Department, and Obama into opposing it.