Diatribes of Jay: Why Buttigieg?

For a brief review of the second and anticlimactic Detroit debate, click here.
For a morning-after view of the first Dem Detroit Debate, click here. For initial reaction to the first Detroit debate, including criticism of CNN, click here. For a discussion of how the US can arrest its decline by rebuilding its labor unions online, click here. For suggestions how to fix, not trash, America by adjusting corporate law, click here. For what we can learn from the strong third-party candidacy of Ross Perot, who died recently, click here. For brief analysis of the House’s censure of the President, click here. For reasons not to watch Trump’s empty shows, click here. For an analysis of reparations for the descendants of slaves, click here. For brief descriptions of and links to recent posts, click here. For an inverse-chronological list with links to all posts after January 23, 2017, click here. For a subject-matter index to posts before that date, click here.

A single candidate stands out above all others—even Warren—for his debate performance alone. That’s Pete Buttigieg, the former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

His performance was so stellar as to boost him, in my mind, into the top tier of candidates, worthy of inclusion in the September debates. This post explains why.

Buttigieg epitomized a cliche that experienced writers of fiction use to teach novices: “Show, don’t tell.” That means you introduce characters not by describing them, but by showing their actions and sometimes their thoughts. You “describe” them through their own deeds, not with words.

Almost all the debaters—except for Warren and Sanders, who needed no introduction—introduced themselves by telling us about their accomplishments and their plans. Too many attacked other candidates for supposed errors in policy or judgment.

Buttigieg did more. He showed us by words and deeds that he is a political “natural,” who understands what “politesse” means and can make a point without offending. In the Age of Trump, that skill seems to have gone by the boards, but those of us who still deeply miss Obama know how vital and telling it can be.

Two incidents illustrated Buttigieg’s skill. Not coincidentally, they were among the most memorable passages of the two Detroit debates.

The first was Buttigieg’s plea (or command) to Republican members of Congress to consider posterity before casting their lot and their legacy with Donald Trump. His words did four things. First, they reminded all Democratic debaters who the real enemy was and is. Second, they recalled that it’s not enough to have a good president; the Dems have to win the Senate, too. Third, they implicitly chided the other candidates for being hard on each other, rather than making their individual cases. Finally, his remarks revealed Buttigieg as the quintessential team player, able to forge fractious debaters, with a single remark, into a team, if only for a moment.

Buttiegieg’s response to a moderator’s question about age was even more skillful. The moderator tried to trap Buttigieg by asking, in effect, whether Buttigieg thinks Sanders is too old at 77. Buttigieg neatly sidestepped the question, saying, “I don’t care how old you are. I care about your vision.” In so doing, he focused attention on the issue of broad vision, the lack of which had doomed John Kerry’s candidacy in 2004 and which, to say the least, is hardly Joe Biden’s strong point. (Joe’s “vision” is mostly backwards, toward Obama’s presidency.) It was a pitch-perfect response that opened a serious question about the front-runner’s chance to win.

There is something about Buttigieg that’s beyond impressive. Perhaps it’s extraordinary native intelligence. Perhaps it’s the training from his Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford in philosophy, politics and economics. Perhaps it’s stellar articulation—the ability to use precisely the right words to make and emphasize a point. Perhaps it’s the broad “situational awareness” that comes from having served in combat for country—a service that only Tulsi Gabbard among the candidates shared. Perhaps it’s the sensitivity and resilience that come from being openly gay (and successful) in a state known for hostility to gays. Perhaps it’s the gravitas in his speech and manner, which somehow appears inviting, not overbearing.

Perhaps it’s all of the above.

Buttigieg, it seems, would make the perfect complement to Warren. She’s older; he’s young, barely old enough to run for president. While she avoids offense and demagogic traps by sticking almost exclusively to substance, he has the political skill and sensitivity of an Obama. While she’s untested in the art of answering crude insults, which Trump will no doubt deliver in abundance, Buttigieg can go for the jugular and stick the knife in without his victim even feeling it, until it’s too late.

The traditional role of a vice-president is defender, enforcer and enabler. Buttigieg seems a perfect fit for that role. And his superior intelligence and broad education offer so much more. He could be a superb political counselor and advisor. Last but not least, it wouldn’t hurt, after four presidents who never served in combat, to have a vice-president who did.

Before the debates, my “Dream Ticket” was Warren-Harris. But Harris’ performance in the debates was mediocre. She couldn’t seem to rise above her role as prosecutor, which gave her a start in politics. After the second round of debates, my Dream Ticket now is Warren-Buttigieg. I hope his performance in future debates solidifies that possibility, and I hope he gets the chance to continue to show his skill.

Endnote: More on CNN’s and the Dem Leadership’s Failure. CNN’s apparent failure to post a full (unedited) feed or complete transcript of the Dems’ second Detroit debate not only buried history for me. It made my task in writing this post much harder. I had remembered the circumstances of Buttigieg’s comment on age incorrectly and almost posted an embarrassingly false recount. Only the more reliable memory of my fiancée, Anna Mantell, and my ability to confirm it with the New Yorker article linked above, saved me from serious error. In the digital age, voters shouldn’t have to subscribe to cable with video recorders to have durable access to vital current political news that makes history. Shame on CNN for burying history and the Dem leadership for allowing it to do so!

Links to Popular Recent Posts

For a critique of the Dems’ anticlimactic second debate in Detroit, click here.
For a morning-after view of the Dems’ first Detroit debate, click here.
For an analysis CNN’s role in privatizing the news and history of the first Detroit Dem debate, click here.
For an intital reaction to the first Dem Detroit debate, click here.
For a discussion of the importance of labor unions and how to rebuild them online, click here.
For a recipe for fixing America by adjustment, without revolution or extremism, click here.
For what we can learn from the strong third-party candidacy of Ross Perot, who died recently, click here.
For brief analysis of the House’s resolution censuring the President, click here.
For good reasons not to watch Trump’s empty shows, click here.
For a discussion about reparations for the descendants of slaves and how to make the reparations work, click here.
For three things the Dems must do to win the White House, click here.
For an assessment of how the second debate propels the Dems toward losing, click here.
For suggestions on how to improve multi-candidate debates, click here.
For a more general discussion of how to improve debates, click here.
For a review of the first Democratic Debate, click here.
For a third, simpler look at why Trump won in 2016, click here.
For seven reasons not to make war on Iran, click here.
For discussion of Warren’s ability to defend science, and why it matters, click here.
For comment on the quality of Elizabeth Warren’s mind and its relevance to our current circumstances, click here.
For analysis of the disastrous effect of our leaders’ failure to take personal responsibility, click here.
For brief comment on China’s Tiananmen Square Massacre and its significance for our species, click here.
For reasons why the Democratic House should pass a big infrastructure bill ASAP, click here.
For an analysis why Nancy Pelosi is right on impeachment, click here.
For an explanation how demagoguing the issue of abortion has ruined our national politics and brought us our two worst presidents, and how we could recover, click here.
For analysis of the Huawei Tech Block and its necessity for maintaining our innovative infrastructure, click here.
For ten reasons, besides global warming, to dump oil as a fuel for ground transportation, click here.
For discussion why we must cooperate with China and how we can compete successfully with China, click here.
For reasons why Trump’s haphazard trade war will not win the competition with China, click here.
For a deeper discussion of how badly we Americans have failed to plan our future, click here.
For an essay on Elizabeth Warren’s qualifications for the presidency, click here.
For comment on how not doing our jobs has brought us Americans low, click here.
To see how modern politics has come to resemble the Game of Thrones, click here.
For a discussion of the waste of energy and fossil fuels caused by unneeded long-range batteries in electric cars, click here.
For a discussion why Democrats should embrace the long campaign season and make no premature moves, click here.
For a discussion how Trump and Brexit have put the tree world into free fall, click here.
For a review of how our own American acts help create our president’s claimed “invasion” of Central American migrants, click here.
For a review of basic facts that must inform any type of universal health insurance, click here.
For a discussion of how the West’s fall and China’s rise affect the chances of our species’ survival, click here.
For a discussion of what the Mueller Report is and how its release could affect American politics, click here.
For a note on the Mueller Report as the beginning of a process, click here.
For comment on the special candidacies of Beto O’Rourke and Pete Buttigieg, click here.
For reasons why the twin 737 Max 8 disasters should inspire skepticism and caution with regard to potentially lethal uses of software and AI, click here.
For my message to Southwest Airlines on grounding the 737 Maxes, click here.
For an example of even the New York Times spewing propaganda, click here.
For means by which high-school teachers could help save American democracy, click here.
For a modern team of rivals that might comprise a dream Cabinet in 2021, click here.
For an analysis of the global decline of rules-based civilization, click here. For a brief note on avoiding health lobbying Armageddon, click here.
For analysis of how to save real news and America’s ability to see straight, click here.
For an update on how Zuckerberg scams advertisers, click here.
For analysis of how Facebook scams voters and society, click here.
For the consequences of Trump’s manufactured border emergency, click here.
For a brief note on Colin Kaepernick’s good work and settlement with the NFL, click here.
For an outline of universal health insurance without coercion, disruption of satisfactory private insurance, or a trace of “socialism,” click here.
For analysis of the Virginia blackface debacle, click here. For an update on how Twitter subverts politics, click here.
For analysis of women’s chances to take the presidency in 2020, click here.
For brief comment on Trump’s State of the Union Speech and Stacey Abrams’ response for the Dems, click here.
For reasons why the Huawei affair requires diplomacy, not criminal prosecution, click here. For how Speaker Pelosi has become a new sheriff in town, click here.
For how Trump’s misrule could kill your kids, click here.
For comment on MLK Day 2019 and the structural legacies of slavery, click here.
For reasons why the partial government shutdown helps Dems the longer it lasts, click here.
For a discussion of how our national openness hurts us and what we really need from China, click here.
For a brief explanation of how badly both Trump and his opposition are failing at “the art of the deal,” click here.
For a deep dive into how Apple tries to thwart Google’s capture of the web-browser market, click here.
For a review of Speaker Pelosi’s superb qualifications to lead the Democratic Party, click here.
For reasons why natural-gas and electric cars are essential to national security, click here.
For additional reasons, click here.
For the source of Facebook’s discontents and how to save democracy from it, click here.
For Democrats’ core values, click here.
The Last Adult is Leaving the White House. Who will Shut Off the Lights?
For how our two parties lost their souls, click here.
For the dire portent of Putin’s high-fiving the Saudi Crown Prince, click here.
For updated advice on how to drive on the Sun’s power alone, or without fossil fuels, click here.
For a 2018 Thanksgiving Message, click here.

Diatribes of Jay

01 August 2019

Why Buttigieg?

For a brief review of the second and anticlimactic Detroit debate, click here.

Links to Popular Recent Posts

Links to Posts since January 23, 2017

2 Comments:

About Me

Previous Posts