Piling on Democrat front-runner 78-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders in last night’s CBS debate, 37-year-old former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg got that sinking feeling, lashing out at Bernie. Buttigieg made a nice run in Iowa and New Hampshire, where town hall meetings still count and small-town politics rule the day. Now that Mayor Pete’s about to step into the big leagues, he’s going to find out the hard way that his two-minutes of fame doesn’t last long. Pete made a good impression in Iowa and New Hampshire but is about to get a reality check in South Carolina and Super Tuesday. Tied with Bernie only in Iowa, Buttigieg will win no other delegates, where his 10% national polls are about to catch up. Lashing out at Bernie last night showed his amateur status, unable to see how he might have been considered for a Cabinet post in a future Sanders’ administration.
No, instead of accepting his fate, Buttigieg spent his last debate lashing out at Bernie for no reason. His campaign has been in quicksand since New Hampshire finished its primary Feb. 11. “I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s and Bernie Sanders with a nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s,” Buttigieg said at last night’s debate. At 37, Buttigieg can only read about what occurred in the dark days of the ‘50s-and-60s, where homosexuals and lesbians were treated as second-class citizens. Buttigieg’s run for president pleased the left-wing media, filled with like-minded individuals spurring him on to make history. But Buttigieg lost the meaning of his run for president, allowing his worst instincts to take over, at a time when he knows that his presidential bid is over.
Of all the Democrats candidates running for president, Buttigieg was the smoothest and most articulate, priding himself on resembling no-drama Obama, referring to former President Barack Obama who kept his cool most of the time. But unlike Obama, Buttigieg didn’t learn lesson-one about charisma, that lashing out at opponents rarely wins votes, especially if it’s about his party’s front-runner. Unable to get off his high horse, Buttigieg couldn’t show Bernie the respect he deserves as his Party’s front-runner, realizing that Bernie’s underdog campaign has inspired millions around the country. Only Bernie, among his fellow Democrats, gets big crowds, generating excitement at campaign evens. No, Mayor Pete let his sour grapes get the best of him. Buttigieg couldn’t stop talking over Bernie and other candidates in last night’s debate, knowing it was his last.
While his colleagues, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), former VP Joe Biden (D-Del.), Sen. Amy Klobushar (D-Minn.), former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Calif. billionaire Tom Steyer joined in the free-for-all, they didn’t attack Bernie with the same kind of venom. Making his case against Bernie, Buttigeig presented himself as the best one to go up against Trump, knowing his age-and-inexperience. Instead of bowing out gracefully, Buttigieg spent his last debate lashing out, making a case that’s fallen of deaf ears, at least for voters. If the media or certain lobbying groups had their way, Mayor Pete would be the one to go up against Trump. But, unlike Bernie, Buttigieg shows no mass movement behind him only certain media elites hoping to break a new glass ceiling. Buttigieg’s campaign has been about repackaging Barack Obama.
Calling Bernie a 60s radical raised eyebrows from Baby Boomers, whose voting preference could elect the next president. Buttigieg’s too young to remember the agony of the Vietnam war, something Bernie fought hard to end. Buttigieg found it easy to slam Bernie as a socialist when he’s nothing more than a Franklin Delano Roosevelt New Deal or John F. Kennedy New Frontier-type liberal. Unlike other candidates, Bernie wasn’t afraid to call out past U.S. foreign policy mistakes, including toppling sovereign states that didn’t agree with U.S.-style democracy. Buttigieg slammed Bernie was saying anything positive about Castro’s Cuba, improving education-and-literacy on the impoverished Spanish-speaking Caribbean island. “I come to this with a great deal of humility because we have had a log of issues especially when it comes to racial justice and policing in my own community.
Buttigieg ran out of gas in his presidential bid because he appears too snarky for ordinary voters, showing contempt when more humility was needed. Had he played peacemaker, instead of provocateur, he would’ve been more Obama-like that going after Bernie using typical GOP talking points. When you consider that the GOP has gone after Bernie relentlessly since taking over as front-runner, it shows that Republicans take him seriously. “I’m not here to score points,” Buttigieg said, commenting that there’s no one of color left in the primaries. If there’s no person of color left in the race, it’s because voters don’t find them appealing. Not because of their color but because of their message to voters. Instead of ripping Bernie for his progressive views, Buttigieg should have let his backers know that he’ll support the Party’s nominee against Trump, not let his failures get the better of him.
