April 16, 2019--Mayor Pete

It has been quipped than when it comes to supporting presidential candidates Democrats fall in love while Republicans fall in line.

I worry that the current surge in enthusiasm for Democratic candidate, South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, might be an example of this.

People in the progressive media on Monday were gaga about Mayor Pete's Sunday announcement speech (delayed at least two hours since his people wisely realized that viewers were tuned into another historic event--Tiger Woods' victory at the Masters and would not switch away to watch Buttigieg's declaration).

It was a good speech and well delivered but should we already be advising him about what curtains to order for the Oval Office?

I'd recommend being a little careful about getting ahead of things, not allowing infatuation to get in the way of cold calculation. That calculation has all to do with Democrats nominating the person who has the best chance to defeat Trump. For me, this time around, all I am obsessed about is voting Trump out of office. I'll worry about policy issues after that gets taken care of.

The mayor is obviously very smart and, if true that he wrote his announcement speech, that too is impressive. I like the idea that he is beginning his run for the nomination by introducing himself to voters before burying us in dozens of policy papers about everything from the climate to education to animal rights.

And I very much like his idea that this is not just about winning in 2020 but about "wining the era." It is time for his generation to take responsibility for the fate of our system and our role in global affairs. The current generation of leaders made a mess and new ideas and youthful energy are essential if we are to have a chance to rescue ourselves.

There is enough time between now and the Iowa caucuses (which I think he has a good chance of winning) to take the time to roll things out thoughtfully. He should take advantage of the current enthusiasm, but be careful not to become overexposed and thereby flame out, relegated to political flavor-of-the-month status. We've seen that before.

But we have to be equally careful to scrutinize his capacity to win and, of course, consider what kind of president he would make if elected.

I am concerned that though in many ways his youth (he is "only" 37) is an asset to many it might also be viewed as a liability.

How assuring is it to imagine Buttigieg seated at the head of the conference table in the Situation Room when a major crisis is underway? Say, North Korea launching missiles that may or may not be headed toward Japan? Or California?

He might benefit politically that a majority of Americans may fear that Trump might stumble into this kind of crisis, but does Mayor Pete pass the commander-in-chief test or the three-o'clock-in-the-morning telephone call test?

Further there is the gravitas challenge. How does he do on that one? Again, better than Trump. But better than all other Democratic candidates?

Also, as a Democrat, to be elected it is imperative that he is able to appeal to a wide coalition of voters, especially people of color. It did not appear that there were many African Americans at his Sunday announcement rally. Being practical, we would be wise to pay attention to this.

Finally, how does Buttigieg stack up when it comes to these electability concerns when compared to, say, Biden? Biden, who has all sorts of his own problems might still do better.

Bottom line--feeling enthusiastic, we also need to be smart about how we think our way though this. He may turn out to be the real deal (I think he in fact will) but it is way to soon to consider consummating our relationship.