The No Labels political movement started back in 2010 with an all-day rally at Columbia University in New York City. Even though the point was to advocate a politics free of partisan rhetoric and posturing, the event had a Democrat-ish feel, from its location in one of the bluest areas of the country to its John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama iconography to its opening speaker, who began, "Welcome to our little Woodstock of democracy."

Five years later, No Labels is still at it, run by two former politicians, former Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman and former Republican Gov. (and Obama ambassador) Jon Huntsman. It's been a long haul; if reducing the level of partisanship in national politics is the goal, it's fair to say they haven't made much progress.

But on Monday in New Hampshire, No Labels may have found an ideal candidate: Donald Trump.

Speaking at the group's "Problem Solver Convention" in Manchester, Trump started with kind words for his hosts. "No Labels — I'm a believer," he said. "We all know that's where we have to go in this country, because we're getting nothing done whatsoever."

Trump began his pitch with the story of the Wollman ice-skating rink in Central Park. A dilapidated city landmark, it was closed for repairs in 1980. The city government under Democratic Mayor Ed Koch couldn't get the job done. Years passed. Millions of dollars were wasted. City contractors couldn't get the cement right, couldn't get the cooling pipes right, couldn't even make the rink level.

Frustrated by the government's failure, Trump offered to take over the job. "After the seventh year, I went to Koch, and I said Ed, I can do this thing, fast," Trump told the audience Monday. "This is ridiculous — they're not working, they're using the wrong everything."

The city gave Trump the job. "I met with the unions, I met with people that do refrigeration," Trump said Monday before launching into an extended and perfectly Trumpian discussion of methods of ice-making for skating rinks.

Trump took no profits and promised to cover any cost overruns himself. There weren't any; he got the job done in six months, under budget.

"You can do that with this country," Trump told the No Labels group. "Our roads are falling apart. Our bridges, our tunnels, our airports…"

Trump went on to describe other times in which he helped rescue floundering government projects. "I had to get the city together, I had to get all the unions together, I had to get everybody together," Trump said. "So you can do these things, but it's about leadership."

Indeed, reporting on yet another development in which Trump took part, this one in the New Jersey Meadowlands, The New York Times reported in 2007 that "Mr. Trump enjoys riding to the rescue as he did in the 1980s, when he rebuilt the Wollman Rink in Central Park after city officials had bungled the job for years."

The point of Trump's story was that he has the skills and inclination to work with the various parties in government to actually accomplish things. Maybe Trump was a Democrat back then. Maybe he was a Republican, maybe an independent. Of course, isn't that precisely the point of No Labels?

Indeed, what could be more No Labels than working together to fix our crumbling infrastructure? They talk about that sort of thing all the time. Trump actually did it.

On top of that, Trump, who is funding his own campaign and says that accepting big campaign contributions makes "puppets" of rival candidates, would seem to be in line with the No Labels campaign finance reform agenda.

Indeed, Trump, whom many Republicans accuse of not being a Republican, would seem to be the perfect No Labels candidate.

Yet some in the audience didn't seem to agree. "In the spirit of problem-solving, I'm wondering if you're at all concerned that some of the divisive language that you use on the campaign trail undermines your ability to solve problems," asked one woman. (Trump wasn't.)

"Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think that you're a friend to women," said another questioner. Yet another doubted Trump's commitment to compromise.

By the end of the session, some present appeared to draw the conclusion that Trump does not belong in the No Labels world. A Politico account was headlined, "Donald Trump strikes sour note at No Labels; Trump's seemingly out-of-step appearance raises questions about his broader appeal."

Perhaps. But here was a man with a bipartisan background who praised cooperation and offered actual examples of his work with officials of both parties. He is an authentic No Labels man, even if No Labels fails to recognize that.