From adorable to plausible to formidable? Pete Buttigieg on himself, and his candidacy

[babylonsister]

https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2019/05/from-adorable-to-plausible-to-formidable-pete-buttigieg-on-himself-and-his-candidacy-brent-larkin.html

From adorable to plausible to formidable? Pete Buttigieg on himself, and his candidacy: Brent Larkin
Posted May 9, 9:23 AM


snip//

With generational tensions roiling the Democratic Party, Buttigieg is careful not to suggest Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders are too old to be president.

“I don’t think it’s my place to say whether any of my competitors should run. I do think there’s a strong appetite for generational change. And that’s not only true of young voters. I am finding it particularly true of voters who are my parents’ age.”

Trump is obsessed by the past. Instead of building a nation for our grandchildren, he romanticizes for the America of our grandparents.

“They’ve (Republicans) set up an impossible promise – that we can meet our challenges by turning back the clock,” said Buttigieg. “One of the things that’s most inspiring about those who came before us is that they were focused on the future. That’s the thing we ought to emulate. Not their particular economic arrangements. And certainly not their racial and social attitudes.”

Buttigieg believes the way to run against Trump would be to ignore his grade-school bullying in favor of a conversation with voters about structural changes to democracy and ways to improve their lives with higher wages, better health care and building a skilled workforce.

“In 2016, we were so shocked about who the nominee was we found it hard to talk about anything else. And I think we allowed our message to be far too much about him.”

Already, Buttigieg’s lifestyle is being targeted with the vile and despicable language so often employed by some religious extremists. There are few bigger hypocrites than the intolerant fundamentalist leaders who support this amoral and immoral president. Imagine the venom they would spew across the battleground state map in a Buttigieg-Trump matchup.

“Of course it’s unpleasant,” he said of the gay bashing. “And it’s strange when people protest not over your ideas, but over your existence. My type of mental equipment for dealing with that is the same that keeps me humble when people say absurdly nice or inflated things about my intellect.

"The most important thing to remember is this campaign is not about me. It’s about everyday life in America and how I might be able to make it better if I get elected instead of the other guy.”

Brent Larkin was The Plain Dealer’s editorial director from 1991 until his retirement in 2009.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. These quotes entirely encapsulate just why I love Pete and hope he succeeds.

Plain-spoken, honest, clear thinking--all of this makes him a formidable candidate.

I respect and admire him for being such an honest, intelligent candidate.

[crazytown]

2. It's that 'turn back the clock' that worries me

looking forward towards a Biden Administration. People want things back to normal but will be as dissatisfied with that normal as they were last time time round. Then come the Midterms.