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For a savvy politician, Martin O'Malley seems to have a tin ear when it comes to gauging the advantages — both political and fiscal — of aggressively expanding gambling in Maryland.

Though the governor is lead singer in an Irish rock band, it turns out he can't carry a tune if the lyrics pertain to slot machines and other games of chance.

Despite polls repeatedly showing strong support for legalizing slots in Maryland, O'Malley initially voiced opposition, then took an "I don't care one way or the other" position.

Only when the governor's expensive social programs and an economic slowdown produced a cavernous budget hole did O'Malley become a slots convert.

Yet even then, the governor failed to provide strong leadership. First, he turned the issue into a constitutional referendum instead of simply muscling bills through the legislature to make slots legal here.

Then he refused to consult with gambling experts and thus ended up with a deeply flawed bill. To top it off, he allowed gambling foes to add crippling provisos that help explain why it's been so hard to open slots facilities in Maryland.

Now O'Malley faces another gambling dilemma — and once again he's voicing passive disinterest.

Should Maryland follow the lead of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware and expand gambling to include table games such as poker, blackjack, craps and roulette? That would require a constitutional amendment.

Should the governor and legislators modify the existing slots law so it is more appealing for investors to bid on a slots parlor at the state-owned Rocky Gap Lodge outside Cumberland?

Should other aspects of the flawed slots law be amended to make the legislation less onerous and more workable? That's the recommendation of the Slots Site Selection Commission.

All these moves make sense.

Maryland desperately needs additional budget revenue, which table games would provide.

Changing the slots law so the state can offer the money-losing Rocky Gap Lodge in a package deal with a slots license solves two fiscal problems at once.

Surrounding states are milking slots and table games for billions of new government revenue. Yet, O'Malley continues to ignore the vast potential to maximize this new source of funds.

O'Malley's lukewarm attitude toward gambling could become a self-inflicted wound when Bob Ehrlich begins his all-but-certain campaign to regain the governor's office next month.

By not championing gambling initiatives as Gov. Ed Rendell has done so successfully in Pennsylvania, O'Malley has gift-wrapped an election issue for Ehrlich. Indeed, O'Malley's lackadaisical and inconsistent leadership on gambling issues could become a key Ehrlich campaign theme.

Eight years ago, Ehrlich championed slots legalization. Now he can do so again, thanks to O'Malley's weak performance in this area. Indeed, Ehrlich may use O'Malley's waffling and unenthusiastic performance on gambling issues to illustrate the misguided nature of O'Malley's gubernatorial decisions.

Ehrlich might make the following accusations under the provocative heading, "This is leadership?"

-O'Malley's refusal to support slots legalization after taking office allowed surrounding states to reap huge benefits from gambling revenue. Maryland has suffered ever since.

-His current refusal to sponsor legislation for a constitutional referendum on legalizing table games puts Maryland even further behind nearby states. It ensures that voters won't be able to change this law until at least 2012.

-His failure to back slots in his first legislative session made a historic round of tax increases inevitable in late 2007.

-His continuing failure to encourage revenue-generating gambling means more big tax increases if O'Malley is re-elected.

-His inept performance on this issue has cost Maryland billions of dollars in lost revenue and will cost the state even more in coming years.

One of the ironies of O'Malley's intransigence on gambling is that even if he wins re-election in November, he has created a fiscal nightmare for himself in 2011 and 2012: a paucity of new gambling revenue just as billions in federal stimulus funds run out and Maryland's slow economic recovery fails to produce a big boost in revenues.

Of course, there still is time for O'Malley to deny Ehrlich what could be a tremendous political edge in the coming gubernatorial campaign.

Western Maryland legislators are pushing for changes in the slots law to generate more interest among gaming companies in the Rocky Gap license. A gubernatorial endorsement isn't out of the question.

O'Malley also could embrace the recommendations of the Slots Site Selection Commission to improve the existing law.

And why not also call for a new referendum on table games at slots facilities (and possibly racetracks)? The governor's rationale could be that voters should decide this question before other states get too far ahead of Maryland.

By November, two slots facilities will have opened, and O'Malley could say he wants voters to decide for themselves if they like what they see and want to permit other gambling options at those sites.

Should the governor fail to take these steps, he runs the risk of letting a formidable opponent seize the gambling issue and use it to justify a "no new taxes" pledge.

Given the depth of public anger toward elected officials this year, such a pledge might hold immense voter appeal.

For that reason, O'Malley would be wise to re-evaluate his indecisiveness on expanded gambling. If not, he could find himself in a lose-lose situation regardless of the outcome of the November election.

Barry Rascovar is a State House columnist and communications consultant. His e-mail address is brascovar@hotmail.com.