Do you think Pete can do it?

No. As much as I like Pete, he is the wrong candidate this time.

Can he do it? Compared to who? Considering that the "man" in there "doing it" now is a complete and total imbecile that's a pretty low bar for anybody.

Of course he could do it.

But I don't think he's gong to get the chance, not in 2020 anyway.

[quote]inexperienced

Well, he's got eight more years of executive experience than Obama had, and Obama turned out just fine.

[quote]Can you see him meeting with Putin? I can only see Joe doing it.

How ridiculous. Yes, I can see any of the current Dem candidates meeting with Putin. He's just a guy, not a god. It takes a braindead narcissist like Trump to be his puppet and get played by him.

Yes, he can do it. He's the perfect candidate for the post-Trump era. People are tired of fighting. We need at least four years of peace.

Why is he the perfect candidate for after the post -Trump era? What makes him unique for the position? Not sure I follow your reasoning.

Is it because he is considered a moderate?

I don't want him to stumble and fall. Obama was smoother, looked up when he spoke with a firm chin, and had a bigger vision. Pete has that ivy eloquence but the emotional evocation Obama had. Maybe in a few more years. There's something a little too needy in Pete. Obama had no neediness.

Joe is too old. He was never Putin's equal, not on his very best day. But that day has come and long gone.

ANYBODY BUT A REPUBLICAN!

Yes, he can. My understanding is that he’s brilliant. He also is humble enough to know that he needs input from advisors who are more knowledgeable on a particular issue, than he is. He’s got good judgement and a moral center. He knows the importance of history, in understanding the present.

In many ways, the government seems to run itself.

Does anyone see a Biden-Pete ticket? Too many white guys? I think it would be great, the elder statesman and young up -and-comer, learning the ropes to move up to the top post later.

Two white guys would be a very hard sell in this political environment.

But who knows?

He can wear earrings.

Then he can wear caftans!

J thought Joe looked terrible in the last debate. He’s getting that detached, confused look that really old people sometimes get.

Put Kamela in the tickets

I am a simple person: the idea of Putin being forced to meet and shake hands with America's gay millennial president, who wasn't even 10 years old when the Soviet Union collapsed, brings me a tremendous amount of joy.

What Trump has revealed was how dumb the job is. A lot of it is ceremonial stuff. You just delegate, then approve or disapprove.

If Buddha Judge wants it let him have it. He's certainly smart enough to do anything he wants to do.

Joe should have just sit this one out. The world has changed tremendously over the last 10 years. We need younger and more diversity.

Pete can do it if elected. He's more intelligent, thoughtful and insightful than anyone the GOP had to offer. The Right has embraced hatred, vitriol and lawlessness and I don't think there's any going back for them anytime soon.

#RIPGOP.

How about a Warren/Pete ticket? I think that would be good.

Svetlana is sweating hard these days with dozens of anti-Pete threads tonight.

Not only do I think he can do it, I think he'll be even better than Obama. Forget the current thug in office or that fool Dubya.

I'm a Peteliever, so yes, he can do it. His improbable launch from gay mayor of a small town to one of the front-runners has been an amazing thing to witness. One of the political highlights of the year for me, for sure.

Oh god. How many anti-Pete threads does the Biden troll have to start? Give it a fucking rest freak.

Petelever?

Buttigieg Bottoms 2020

And those shitstain Saudis too, r15!

What R1 and R4 said.

Quite frankly I’m sick and tired of people over the age of 65 telling us that Pete “needs more experience”... you all want a geriatric.

Of course Pete could do the job. Haven't you noticed he is more articulate, even-tempered, thoughtful and practical than anyone else in the race.

Warren is too unlikable, and her insistence on killing the insurance industry in one fell swoop is nutcase crazy.

Biden is too old and not mentally capable of sparring one on one in real time with an adversary. Listen to the way he responded when Kamala called him on his assertion the ONLY African-American woman senator supports him.

"I said FIRST, I said FIRST!" No, he didn't say first, he said only, and besides, no one under 50 even knows who Carol Moseley Brown is.

I'd like to see Pete at the top of the ticket with a fantastic African-American woman (not just anyone, not Kamala) or man -- Cory Booker -- as VP, but I would also be open to him being the VP candidate, if there were anyone smarter or more electable than he. I don't think there is anyone smarter or more electable than he is.

I would love to see him debate Trump. He would mop the floor with Trump, but my guess is Trump would refuse to debate him, because he knows he couldn't do anything but snarl and spew saliva like a rabid dog in the face of Pete's command of the language, the facts and the issues.

R27, I thought Democratic Boomers are said to be in love with Pete?

I'm one of them. My generation fucked us royally, I'm counting on young people to be smarter and better than we were as a whole.

He can’t beat Trump in this political climate R27.

You don't know that R31. A lot of Hillary supporters said the same thing about Obama in 2008, but Hillary herself decided winning the White House was more important than her ego, and she went to work to help make it happen.

Why do you want him? Since he has been mayor of South Bend, crime is up and high school graduation rates are down.

I'm gay, I want to be judged on the merits. But the sword cuts both ways.

If he turns out to be the Democratic candidate, I will support him without hesitation R32.

Plain and simple, I don’t believe Pete would sway the Trump supporters. They are not going to vote for a gay man.

Until and unless Pete starts polling much better with black people in the south this whole conversation is moot.

R35, well that's a new opinion. Never heard that one here before...

OP is just so CONCERNED!

r36, and you will be hearing it again and again because it's the truth.

Democratic candidates largely can't win the presidency without the black vote. Whites aren't enough because a lot of them vote Repug (both men and women).

R38, what a big, fat yawn. I guess you subscribe to the belief that if you repeat something a million times, people will hopefully start believing you.

The inverse is true. You just come across as annoying and repetitive.

r39 is an idiot.

So now we’re beholden to the “black vote”? Because Dump has their best interests at heart... lol

Wake me up when that boring, tedious bitch, R40, has something new to add.

Pete can do anything he sets his mind to! He is brilliant and literally the smartest man who has ever run for president. He is more prepared than anyone ever. It makes me so upset when I see people doubt him.

Do his balksac stink?

It's curious the way the media has created the notion Pete is the candidate African-Americans won't support. They also aren't supporting Booker, Harris, Warren, or Bernie, but somehow Pete is the one they'll stay home and not vote for.

Remember when they altered the sound feed on Howard Dean's mic so it sounded like he was yelling too loud in a primary victory speech? Some of you are probably too young to remember that, but he was the front runner and a liberal governor from Vermont, and the media took him down with a sound feed. It was a crowded room filled with people screaming, so when he shouted to be heard over the crowd, the media cut all the sound except his mic, and he sounded a bit too glad to have won.

That's what they're doing with this myth that black people won't vote for him. Why aren't they making a huge deal of the fact black people won't support Warren? Or aren't supporting Booker?

Personally, I think African-Americans are smarter than that. Yes, plenty of them think homosexuality is wrong. But on a ticket with Booker or someone they do like, I don't think most black people are going to think, it doesn't matter, let's keep Trump.

I'm white, so I don't know and don't want to pretend I do know. I just think most people who want Trump out are going to vote for the Democrat, whoever that is.

African-Ameican DLers, who is the candidate black people will vote for, besides Biden? I'm sorry, but he's too old and he's no longer on top of his game.

[quote] Wake me up when that boring, tedious bitch, [R40], has something new to add.

Yes after he loses big in South Carolina and Nevada, the Democrats will rush to nominate him. Because he's simply so pure and good.

I’m counting on young people to get out and vote R30.

Pete polls lower with AA than any of those other candidates that were cited.

Pete himself certainly doesn't seem to think it's hogwash; considering he spent time at a black church in the south this past Sunday.

50% of voters don’t vote. Why is that? Most are YOUNG. That’s the demographic that gave Obama a shot. Fuck off with your ancient straight candidates. Pete can choose anyone as his VP including an African American woman.

You can debate it all you want but America is nowhere even close to electing a gay president. Blacks won't vote for him, elder Dems wont vote for him and college kids are all voting for Warren, assuming they vote at all.

R50 said the same thing in 2008.

Al Gore lost the election the day he announced Joe Lieberman as his running mate. People did not want a Jew a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Prejudices are not easily pushed aside. A gay man cannot win in 2020.

Al Gore lost because he wouldn't let Bill Clinton campaign for him. He won anyway, but if he had let Clinton campaign for him, it would have been too decisive for Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris to steal the election.

I didn't like Joe Lieberman, either, but not because he's Jewish. Because he's a right-wing war hawk. And no one voted for Bush because they thought he was less hawkish than Gore/Lieberman.

Al Gore "lost" the election because of a partisan Supreme Court who stopped the vote counting in Florida; which a later non-partisan counting showed that Gore would have won, and therefore would have won the presidency.

It had nothing to do with Joe Lieberman.

Wouldn't it be the ultimate slap in the face for the Deplorables to lose Trump and gain a married homosexual?

R55 that’s why it’s so timely. The pendulum needs to swing. Joe Biden is our only hope?? Please...

The Pete hater here is tiresome.

He or she is just trying to get a rise out of everyone else. I'm done.

[quote]Since he has been mayor of South Bend, crime is up and high school graduation rates are down.

Well, it's not like he can kick all the blacks out of town.

R45, this is genuinely a good post. You not only gave your perspective, but admitted what you don't know and then asked for more information from someone who would know.

I know it seems silly but it's so rare that I see this here that I had to say thank you for writing this.

r58 is a racist.

Shun him gals!

No. He's another Wall Street stooge.

It could happen. Everyone said Obama couldn't do it, either, and he not only did it, he did it wearing shades while spinning a basketball on his index finger.

Nope. Not going to happen. A married gay man may one day win the White House but this isn't the election.

Watch out everyone, Miss R63 has stated her boundaries

Pete has the Right Stuff.

R64, you made me think of Nan Mychyginwommin (I know I spelled it wrong) and now I can't stop laughing.

Not without the black vote.

Pete is still so young. I wish he were 10 years older. I like him. He's very smart, rationale, sane and measured. However, I tend to think that people will hold his age against him and vote for the fat orange criminal fuck in the White House.

With this economy Trump seems like a shoo-in for reelection.

R69:

R69, it’s 11 months before the election. That’s a lifetime. Trump has Bad polls now, if the economy slows, he’s sunk.

I can't stand Trump but reality is reality. We need to concentrate on the Senate and reelecting Alabama Senator Doug Jones, specifically. or else we're getting 2 more Supremes by Trump and McConnell.

Trump will be impeached by Christmas. The trial next year will not be good for him, whatever the outcome. If the trial is done well, it will reflect poorly on any republican that remains supportive of Trump. We have a long way to go and we don’t know how it will unfold, yet.

And Doug Jones does not need the entire Nation’s attention to win.

yes, kinda sorta a little. He's got a big African American problem. he's a smarty pants so he's got a doofus problem. He's got some problems. But yes. It is just a little possible that he can win Iowa, then New Hampshire, then use that momentum to survive coming in third or maybe fourth in South Carolina, and then get a whole lot of panicked rich white guys to flock to him in time for Super Tuesday. So yes, maybe, could pull this thing out.

The PM of Malta was 37 when he came to office. The Maltese must produce wunderkind. Of course the PM has to resign it looks like over the death of the journalist.

Biden might be more popular than Pete with the Black community, but who else is? I here they all have problems, except Joe. So, figure on Pete as first or second in S. Carolina.

Pete is not too young. There's a reason the Founding Fathers decided upon 35 as a minimum age for president and he is in that range.

oh and trump is doing such a good job with putin being his puppet and servant. Would you rather have 4 more years of that? Buttigeg is probably more qualified than most. He spent several years actually fighting a war on behalf of the US on the front lines.

um, life expectancy and also a whole lot of other sociological factors made them do that r77. Honestly, I think 55 would be the minimum if the constitution were written these days.

[quote]Does anyone see a Biden-Pete ticket?

YES! It would be the perfect balance of experience and new ideas.

The thing about Pete is that he is smart enough to study history and humble enough to ask for advice from more experienced people. You don’t need an old President if the President is willing to ask for advice from old advisors.

Trump is too stupid to know anything about anything, and too proud to ask for and take advice from people who know more than him.

Lawrence O’Donnell called him the most ignorant president, ever.

there will never be another Democratic ticket with NO woman. Not gonna happen. Gay men don't count. There will be a woman on every, single ticket from now until the end of time.

I believe that much of the opposition to Pete is from people (gays included) who think he's the wrong kind of gay man. People are acting like 37 is some babe in the woods age. It's not. And the truth of the matter is that every person who has been president has said that no experience could have prepared them for the job. Sure, it doesn't hurt if you been in Congress and know how the legislative branch works or even the governor of a state. Being POTUS is about being able to administrate, assemble a good team, about being able to comfort the nation in times of crisis, to effectively represent us on the world stage, and be able to make tough choices. Pete can do all those things.

I don't know. He is a Rhodes Scholar, a former military man who saw combat, - those two right there I think qualifies him. Plus of course he bats for the same team I do so to speak and it'd be something to have a gay man as President.

nobody "deserves" the presidency. You take it. You luck into it. You make it happen. You never deserve it.

ANYBODY can do it. A lot of people voted for Trump just to prove this point. It's about choosing a face to represent America and Pete is the one I'm least embarrassed by.

they did it as a huge fuck you r86. I don't think Pete wins as a fuck you. I don't.

Pete does not run as a fuck you candidate. He won't win as one r87. He won't need to.

Nope

R72, I think Doug Jones was toast the day after he was elected.

All Alabama has to do is run Jeff Sessions or any Republican who is not a child-fucker, and he (in Alabama, definitely he) will win in a landslide.

My dream ticket would be Pete and Stacy Abrams.

Sadly, it would likely be a bigger hit as a comedy film than an actual presidential run. Oh, the pearl-clutching we would see!

But wouldn't it be fun to see the comparison of those two -- full of energy, youth, brains, ability, and integrity -- against Trump and Pence. Though if there's a woman on the Dem ticket, Trump will probably dump Pence and go with Nikki Haley.

African American South Bend leaders show support for Buttigieg at meeting

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - African American South Bend leaders and elected officials wanted to show support for Mayor Pete Buttigieg in a time, they argue, the national media suggests he lacks local community support.

On Wednesday, a meeting was held at the Charles Martin Youth Center. Gladys Muhammad, who manages the youth center, said the meeting was not meant to showcase presidential endorsements of Buttigieg.

Several speakers explained why they are backing Buttigieg for his work as South Bend mayor.

Apostle Michael Patton said he was proud of Buttigieg for creating the Department of Diversity and Inclusion, among other achievements. Patton did cast his support for Buttigieg as the Democratic nominee at the end of his five-minute speech.

Amid the meeting, a man who reportedly belongs to the local chapter of Black Lives Matter stole the mic from Councilwoman Sharon McBride. Crowd members had to quiet him and regain control of the microphone.

McBride, a Democrat who represents the city's 3rd District, accompanied Buttigieg on the campaign trail in South Carolina over the weekend.

Recent polls show Buttigieg trailing other Democratic candidates in terms of African American support. He has 2% of the share in a poll from The Economist/YouGov, compared to Joe Biden's 46%.

In a recent Quinnipiac University poll, Buttigieg has 4% of support among black voters.

While Buttigieg has room to gain popularity in other voting categories, Dr. Elizabeth Bennion, a political science professor at Indiana University South Bend, said garnering the African American vote is key for any candidate.

I am actually picturing him coalescing with Trudeau and Macron. He would fit in so well. Can you picture any of the others getting accepted to their clique?

Pete went to war. Of course he can do it. Pete’s will outsmart Putin with one hand tied behind his back.

Pete, Trudeau, Macron will speak French and drink fine French wine.

I would pay good money for a Pete, Trudeau and Macron sex tape.

I'm concerned.

OP,

No.

And he is unworthy.

I still prefer Trump over Pete frankly

This cocksucker is bottoming out, he just fucked up his education plan and he's being called to task for it.

Absolutely positively unequivocally NO, he cannot.

If Pete doesn't come in at number one in Iowa, that control freak is gonna have a hard time coming back through politics. He's peaking kind of early for Iowa. With new technology, come new messages.

I would pay good money for a Pete, Trudeau and Macron sex tape.

Ahem.

Republican presidents raise the deficit, Clinton and Obama lower it, Mayor Pete: “My party’s not known for worrying about the deficit or the debt too much but it’s time for us to start getting into that,”

Is there a thread about what Biden did this afternoon? He was at a small town hall, and an older man came up and said, in a respectful way, Trump is in trouble for using his position to benefit himself in the Ukraine, but your son did go to work for a gas company, he had no qualifications for that, so you did use your influence in a way, to get him that job.

Biden went off on the guy, made it very personal, and humiliated the poor guy. The guy asked his question in a very hesitant way. You could tell it was hard for him. And Joe handled it as if the guy was one of those screaming Fox nut jobs. He wasn’t at all.

I got the impression he was either an old school Democrat, or maybe an Independent or Republican that just wanted to know what explanation Joe had. He was not aggressive or confrontational from what I could see.

Biden took it very very personal. It was just an awful performance. Anybody hear about that?

Yes r105 Boris

Sorry, r105, but the guy wasn't respectful at all. He said he's not voting for Biden, and he was likely a Trumpeter. And he kept asking it. He made it personal. He was an asshole.

Biden was, kind of, but the questioner was more of a jerk than Biden was.

Joe went off on him? Of course it's personal. It's his son. Duh.

Who is financially supporting Pete? When is the next Dem debate?

What does DL think of him here with Jimmy Fallon and Scarlett Johansson?

The world is not ready for a gay president. America electing Pete will be detrimental to America. It’ll be a sign to America’s enemies (Putin, ISIS, etc) that America is weak.

R106, I was moving furniture while this was going on, so I didn’t catch it all.

From what I could see, Biden seemed inappropriate. And as far as the guy being a Republican or whatever, Republicans are allowed to go to town halls, and that’s not the last time somebody’s going to ask that. For all we know, they may ask at every town hall from now on. Which they have a right to do.

Biden should not have been caught flat footed by that. His staff should have prepared him to answer that long ago. They need a stock answer and he can say it every time until people get tired of asking and getting a non-answer, and then they stop. That’s standard operating procedure for politicians.

The idea that he actually seemed to be answering off the cuff is bad. Biden is not good at these off the cuff things and he needs preparation. Makes me wonder about his campaign team.

R91 - 0hhhh I'd love that ticket!

Pete and Sally Yates.

R93 - Re Pete coalescing with Trudeau and Macron - I'm picturing something a lot more dirty (and apparently so are a few others in this thread!)

Yeah R115, more like cockmolesting, not coalescing.

Seriously? R106 and R107?

You may think Joe was justified in his response, but it is clear evidence he doesn't have the temperament to debate Trump.

The two of them would likely get into a fistfight.

Yes, I know it's nuts to think the homophobes and Christians wouldn't come out of the woodwork in droves to vote against Pete, but it's also clear Biden doesn't have the temperament and judgment it takes to even to run in the Iowa caucuses, forget about the general.

If he's that unhinged by an old farmer in Iowa, how is he going to handle that question from debate moderators on live TV?

And now everyone knows all you have to do to push Biden's buttons is to ask about his son's windfall income from a Ukranian gas company.

Personally, I think Biden disqualified himself today with that overreaction. He is entitled to be outraged internally, but part of the job is to keep it together during times of turmoil, not lash out at something (especially something this small) that gets under your skin.

This is one of the same reasons Trump needs to be gone.

R115, yes, it would be hot to see Pete with Trudeau and Macron:

[quote] I'm concerned.

I’m concerned, too. What if we never get a Pete-Trudeau-Macron sex tape?

R102, he is not a control freak. Anything but. If you don't like him as a candidate, there are multiple reasons you could cite, but accusing him of being a control freak just means you're making things up.

He's the least flappable of the candidates and the most thoughtful, in my opinion. You may disagree, but there's no evidence of him being a control freak.

Pete is secretly a Communist Martian cannibal. No one will vote for him!

Oh, and if you don’t believe that, he’s a Satan worshipping, corporate Jesus freak!

[quote]I’m concerned, too. What if we never get a Pete-Trudeau-Macron sex tape?

Indeed. We definitely need to see that.

Liz is desperate and going after Pete. He’ll cock block her like he did Tulsi.

Pete will drop out after the New Hampshire primaries.

no, not at all....never

He’ll do it if I have to personally drag him across the finish line.

The US should have a ceremonial head of state and a president as head of government. It’s strange to combine the two roles and creates a lot of misunderstandings amongst voters.

R129 That's why we have first ladies in America.

R130 I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.

When Biden makes dumb statements like this: Joe Biden admitted he's an 'old guy' during a campaign event and says he needs to choose a vice president who can lead the country in the event he dies.

Yes Pete can do it.

It's time to start the 21st century. We need a president who is a tech native, not someone born into old technology from the last century. No one who is 70 or even 59, Amy K., is young enough and smart enough to have the vision to lead us into the coming century.

Biden, Warren, Bernie, Klob, etc., are all from the Cold War era. We need someone who came of age this century. Pete is our best hope.

My gut tells me it’ll him. My gut is usually pretty clairvoyant.

It’ll be him*

Not only can Pete do it but he will do it best.

There are many folks online but try to do political forecast based on tarot, astrology, Etc. One of them who describes herself as a veteran fag hag has hinted that she's not convinced Vladimir Putin is as heterosexual as he'd like folks to believe. (He pings to her)