Mayor Pete, We Hardly Knew Ye

[Valin]

Power Line

John Hinderaker

March 1, 2020

Pete Buttigieg has dropped out of the Democratic presidential race in advance of Super Tuesday. “Mayor Pete” went farther than most imagined when the campaign began, but he seems to be timing his exit well. While positioning himself as one of the “moderates” in the race–put aside whether this is actually true–he never really alienated the other candidates and their followers, other than some Bernie Bros who thought he was the ultimate white guy.

Whatever. By pulling out before Super Tuesday, Buttigieg maximizes his chances as a potential vice presidential nominee. He is not a woman, which puts him at a disadvantage compared with Amy Klobuchar and various pretenders who dropped out long ago. (No one wants Liz Warren as a vice president, but does anyone remember Kirsten Gillibrand?) But as a gay man, he is perhaps, in political terms, the next best thing. One can imagine him as either Bernie Sanders’s or Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick.

(Snip)

[Valin]

The State of the Race

Steve Hayward

Mar. 1 2020

(Snip)

• Do you realize that Buttigieg can run for president again for the next 40 years and still be younger than Joe Biden is today? At some point, he’ll become Harold Stassen, but that day is a long way off.

• Do you realize that with the withdrawal of Buttigieg and Tom Cryer (or whatever his name is), Joe Biden is now the youngest man in the Democratic field?

(Snip)

• Can we still quote Yogi Berra—”It ain’t over till the fat lady sings?” Not sure. Probably not. Let me amend it then: “It ain’t over until the gender-fluid body-positive deep-voiced intersectional critical theorist declaims on the performative outcome of the neoliberal false consciousness parade steals the nomination from Bernie.”