ABC moderator George Stephanopoulos started Friday night’s Democratic presidential debate with a bang. He went straight to Joe Biden and asked him about his two top rivals, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg, and why they aren’t the best candidate for president. As far as Buttigieg was concerned, Biden pulled no punches.
Biden said, “Mayor Buttigieg is a great guy and a real patriot … [but] he was the mayor of a small city but has not demonstrated the ability to get a broad scope of support including among African Americans and Latinos.” This echoes criticisms Biden has made in recent days since Buttigieg crushed Biden in the Iowa caucuses. Biden blasted the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor, saying, “I do believe it’s a risk, to be just straight up with you, for this party to nominate someone who’s never held an office higher than a mayor of 100,000 people in Indiana.”
Biden on Buttigieg: “Mayor Buttigieg is a great guy and a real patriot. He’s a mayor of a small city who has done some good things but has not demonstrated he has the ability to…to get a broad scope of support across the spectrum including African-Americans and Latinos.”
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) February 8, 2020
Biden says Buttigieg has some experience as the “mayor of a small city who has done some good things” but questions his broader appeal #DemDebate
— Jesse Byrnes (@jessebyrnes) February 8, 2020
This criticism really does have some serious merit.
Yes, Buttigieg has a very impressive resume, and he is indeed a rising star in the Democratic Party. But in terms of the usual positions that arguably qualify one for the Oval Office, such as serving in Congress, being governor, or serving in a Cabinet. Buttigieg has done none of this. He did serve honorably in the military. But there’s a big step up from his role as a Navy intelligence officer to commander in chief, and little to suggest Buttigieg is prepared to make the jump.
As far as nontraditional qualifications are concerned, such as President Trump or Tom Steyer’s experience as businessmen and entrepreneurs, Buttigieg doesn’t have much in that department. Really, his only experience is his military service and his tenure as mayor of South Bend, a Midwestern city with a population of roughly 100,000 people.
And he wasn’t even a good mayor, at that!
During his tenure, Buttigieg woefully botched his handling of race relations and policing. He removed the first black police chief, naming a white replacement, and the whole department has grown less diverse during his tenure. One police department official told CNN: “[Buttigieg] took a passive approach with the police department. I’ve gone through four or five mayors, but this has taken a certain turn. Qualified minority officers leave, because there is no avenue of advancement or promotion.”
Buttigieg has faced widespread complaints from black residents of South Bend, and he even told one black voter to her face, “I’m not asking for your vote.”
Plus, Buttigieg’s landmark policy proposal as mayor failed miserably. As I previously wrote:
The wannabe technocrat had bold plans for redesigning South Bend. They failed, and spectacularly so. Then he spent the last year or so of his tenure as mayor touring the country running for president. One constituent memorably remarked, “I ain’t ever seen the dude. Tell him to chill with us for three or four days.”
Now, after cleaning up in the Iowa caucuses and rising in the polls for New Hampshire, Buttigieg is asking voters for a major promotion. But Biden has a point when he says Mayor Pete has done little to earn one.
