While in New Hampshire on Friday, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley was asked repeatedly about Hilary Clinton and the recent scandals that have been surrounding her. Unlike some other politicians, O’Malley refused to criticize the former Secretary of State.

“I like Hillary Clinton, and I respect Hillary Clinton, and I didn’t come here to talk about Secretary Clinton,” said O’Malley to a group of reporters eager to scoop up some new dirt.

O’Malley’s deference is refreshing in an era of finger pointing and name-calling. In fact, it seemed down right presidential.

Despite his attempts to focus on the issues, such as immigration and financial regulation, he was continually questioned about Clinton’s use of a personal email account while working for the state department.

Eventually, O’Malley conceded “openness and transparency are required of governing in the modern age.” However, he insisted “I don’t know what the rules are that govern the email procedures on the federal level, and I’ll leave that to others to explain.”

O’Malley was also questioned about the other scandal currently marring Clinton- that the Clinton Foundation expected donations from foreign governments.

Once again, O’Malley showed true tact in his answer.

“I can tell you that in any of my dealings with her, or with the president, they have always been decent and straight up and honest with me,” said O’Malley. “And I also know for a fact that that foundation has done a lot of good work. … I’ll leave to them to answer more specific questions.”

O’Malley is considering a running for president and is currently testing the waters for public and donor support. He is expected to announce his decision later this spring. He is in New Hampshire this weekend for a Democratic fundraiser. Coincidentally, New Hampshire is also the first state to hold primary elections.

When he was finally asked about issues that are likely to dominate the primary debates, O’Malley stated that his candidacy would be about “breaking with the failed policies of the past.”

In particular, he explained his belief that Washington needs to be more ‘clear-throated’ about where it stands on issues like immigration and Wall Street regulations. He believes Democrats should push harder for banking reform, including reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act, a law that separated commercial and investment banking. Many believe that the recent economic crisis was caused in part by President Bill Clinton repealing that act in 1999.

“I think we need to make it an economic imperative as well as a security imperative and we cannot give up,” said O’Malley. “I think sometimes we try to tap dance around the very things that define the principles of our nation, and it’s what turns people off and has them sit at home instead of going out to vote.”

While he is still lags behind Clinton in the polls, this weekend O’Malley certainly got people’s attention.