Buttigieg wins stellar reviews at CNN town hall

[left-of-center2012]

Pete Buttigieg impressed pundits with his CNN town hall performance on Sunday night, giving the South Bend, Ind., mayor a much-needed boost in a crowded Democratic presidential field.

He’s been a lower-tier candidate, but after seeing him in primetime on Sunday, pundits and Democratic operatives argued the 37-year-old was worth a second look. David Axelrod, who served as a top strategist to former president Barack Obama, wrote on Twitter that he had rarely “seen a candidate make better use of a televised Town Hall.”
“Crisp, thoughtful and relatable,” Axelrod wrote. “He’ll be a little less of a long shot tomorrow.

Buttigieg scored points and made instant headlines during the town hall by calling Vice President Mike Pence a “cheerleader for the porn star presidency.”
“How would he allow himself to become the cheerleader for the porn star presidency? Is it that he stopped believing in scripture when he started believing Donald Trump?” Buttigieg said as the cameras rolled.

Buttigieg was far more than a single headline winner on Sunday night. The people impressed with his performance argued that he showed off a knowledge of policy on foreign and domestic issues and answered questions on a host of topics with intelligence. In the process, he highlighted his experience as a major, as a member of the military deployed to Afghanistan and as a married gay man.

Each time I watch him, I am continuously impressed,” said one strategist who worked on a few recent presidential campaigns, adding that Buttigieg “keeps exceeding expectations.”
“I have real questions about if someone can jump from a smallish but iconic city mayor to [president] but he has earned a spot in the conversation and will be on the VP shortlist if he doesn’t emerge as the nominee,” the source added.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/433546-buttigieg-wins-stellar-reviews-at-cnn-town-hall

[True Dough]

1. Absolutely!

CONTINUOUSLY IMPRESSED!

That ought to be his campaign slogan!

[allgood33]

2. Inslee/ Buttigieg

What do you think?

[The Blue Flower]

5. You beat me to it!

I think it would be a winning ticket.

[elfin]

11. Hooray!

Will women agree? Will we be required to have a woman or minority or a woman who is a minority on the ticket?

I hope we are not constrained by such expectations, but I expect we will be.

[marylandblue]

14. He's a minority too, so they can't complain too much.

[crazycatlady]

15. Is LGBT considered a minority?

[scheming daemons]

3. His support will double from 1% to 2%

He won't be the nominee.

Let's be real.

[patricia92243]

7. I remember when Trump was 1%. Times change.

[scheming daemons]

18. There was never a time when Trump was 1%

From the time he entered the race in 2015, he never was below 20% among Republicans.

[left-of-center2012]

9. A long time before the nomination

People rise;
others fall.

[marylandblue]

19. At this point in the 1976 Election, Jimmy Carter was still "Jimmy Who?"

[elleng]

20. Been thinking along those lines too.

Thanks, MDblue.

[scheming daemons]

22. He wasn't running against 18-20 others

2020 is not 1976.

[California_Republic]

4. Mayor Pete!

[patricia92243]

6. I think this is only the beginning. We will be seeing much much more of him in coming days.

[TheRealNorth]

8. I might be able to get behind him as a VP Candidate

He would definitely be a plus for a moderate candidate like Klobuchar.

[Garrett78]

10. Is there any chance he could win a Congressional seat in his district? Or a Senate seat?

Senator or governor might be a stretch in red Indiana, but I don't know anything about his home district.

Maybe a cabinet post or even VP is his best bet. He'll be a contender in 2028, I would think, if he doesn't end up one in 2020.

[dsc]

12. His district is R + 11

so I think it would be uphill for him

[Garrett78]

13. Not surprised, but he may be one to overcome long odds.

But he can't very well run for both president and Congress, and he wouldn't want to run in a midterm election.

[murielm99]

16. For our ILDCCA brunch in Illinois this year,

Biden was supposed to be our speaker. Mayor Pete filled in at the last minute. I knew about him already because our son has close friends who live in South Bend. Mayor Pete has accomplished so much in his city, and he is a great speaker.

[LiberalFighter]

17. On Deadline: White House today

Everyone was referring to Pete as Mayor Pete instead of Pete Buttigieg or Buttigieg. They were not sure how to pronounce his name. But one finally did say it.

[renate]

21. I was even impressed by him on a show like "Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!"

He was very personable and quick-witted; obviously very smart but also very approachable. I liked him A LOT.

The only thing is that he is, and looks, very young. I kind of think that a good path would be to run for Senate (any chance Indiana would elect him?) and then run for President from there.

This isn't a criticism. I think he's awesome.