Althouse: Endorsing Buttigieg.

January 30, 2020

Endorsing Buttigieg.

I'm not... but my son John is (over on his blog, here).

121 comments:

rehajm said...: Act now! Before it’s too late!; 1/30/20, 3:52 PM
chuck said...: Better than Warren :); 1/30/20, 3:55 PM
Big Mike said...: JAC must believe that it takes no special skills to be President of the United States, or he would not be endorsing a mediocre mayor from a modest-sized Midwestern college town for the office.; 1/30/20, 3:56 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: I think America needs the knock down drag out fight that would be Sanders vs Trump. Not some wimpy little tool ten years out of college who will be putty in the hands of the military industrial complex.; 1/30/20, 3:59 PM
Lucid-Ideas said...: I see absolutely nothing except a media-puffed under-the-hill made relevant because 'gay'. Friggin' no.

It's the same thing over again. Media-puffed because latinx (AOC). Media-puffed because hijab (Omar). Media-puffed because billionaire (Bloomberg). Media-puffed because vagina (Warren).

Friggin'. No.; 1/30/20, 4:02 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: "And how inexperienced is Buttigieg really? In addition to his Army service in Afghanistan, he was a mayor of a Midwestern city with a population of about 100,000 people.”

Compare and contrast to Sarah Palin.; 1/30/20, 4:02 PM
alanc709 said...: Just shows you how little an education can accomplish.; 1/30/20, 4:02 PM
GingerBeer said...: Q: So, how does Amy Klobuchar strike you?

A: With a stapler.; 1/30/20, 4:06 PM
Kevin said...: Reading John's post outlines how dismal the Dems chances really are.

If only our professional media were so clear-eyed and truthful about the situation.; 1/30/20, 4:12 PM
ALP said...: Butt is America ready for a president with "Butt" in his name?; 1/30/20, 4:14 PM
narciso said...: https://www.redstate.com/brandon_morse/2020/01/28/we-attract-truly-radical-people-sanders-campaign-organizer-confesses-sanders-campaign-extremism/; 1/30/20, 4:14 PM
Ice Nine said...: It's clearly time to give that incredibly naive youngster a good talkin'-to, Mom.; 1/30/20, 4:15 PM
Jupiter said...: "Common criticisms of Buttigieg are that he's young and inexperienced. President Buttigieg would be inaugurated the day after his 39th birthday, making him the youngest president ever. You could fairly worry about that. You could also argue he'd be in good company: Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest president ever, and is widely considered one of the best."

Well, I can see JAC thought long and hard about this, before he based his endorsement on the only thing he actually gives damn zero about, the candidate's sexual preference. Speak softly, and suck on a big dick.; 1/30/20, 4:15 PM
Kevin said...: I, for one, welcome Sanders' nomination backed by all the money promised by Bloomberg to the eventual nominee.

A billionaire funding a campaign to eradicate billionaires would be just the kind of entertainment we so sorely need.; 1/30/20, 4:16 PM
Equipment Maintenance said...: My reaction to anyone saying they endorse Buttigieg is the same as Bill Murray's in Groundhog Day when his date says in college she majored in 18th century French poetry.; 1/30/20, 4:18 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: Meanwhile, Warren has selected a new campaign song: Free fallin'; 1/30/20, 4:19 PM
mccullough said...: Ok Millennial.; 1/30/20, 4:21 PM
Jupiter said...: I guess he could do worse. He's made it clear he hates Trump, and does not want to see him re-elected. That a Democrat who is despised by blacks is really the best choice to prevent that outcome seems unlikely, but when you are fundamentally unserious anyway, and you are really just virtue-signalling to your equally unserious friends, might as well go with the out homosexual. It's kind of hard to virtue-signal with Joe Biden.; 1/30/20, 4:22 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: I did read his post. He's done a reasonable job of sorting through the intellectual, moral and political rubble that fills the Democrat Klown Kar--2020 model.

He's picked what he thinks are the least objectionable of the bunch. I can agree with the general rubble sorting approach---sort of like the little boy that Reagan liked to joke about, with the punchline "There's a pony somewhere under all this XXxX".

But ultimately there's not a whole lot to like in the entire bunch. If you want to talk about a Mayor (of several million people) with a lot of executive experience (albeit in the private sector) then why not go for Bloomberg? But at the end of my voting day, my choice will be "none of the above". Still it's nice to see a guy like John think his way through a problem, even if he reaches a different conclusion than I might reach.; 1/30/20, 4:22 PM
narciso said...: mayor howdy is just full of category error, that makes him a mark for banks like deutsche bank and chase and citigroup, (what do they see in him); 1/30/20, 4:23 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: If you think the biggest problem facing the country is the debt, which I do, who do you think makes the best candidate? I have come to the conclusion that it would be Bloomberg. Not sure what I can do with this information.; 1/30/20, 4:24 PM
Achilles said...: "Common criticisms of Buttigieg are that he's young and inexperienced. President Buttigieg would be inaugurated the day after his 39th birthday, making him the youngest president ever. You could fairly worry about that. You could also argue he'd be in good company: Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest president ever, and is widely considered one of the best."

This is such a transparently stupid argument.

Anyone want to compare and contract the lives of Buttigieg and Roosevelt at their 39th birthdays?

JAC needs to be honest and just say "cuz he is gay" and get it over with.

"Orange man baahahahahad" would also be a more convincing argument.

Make sure to get the sheep sounds in there.; 1/30/20, 4:25 PM
tcrosse said...: Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you, if you're young at heart.; 1/30/20, 4:25 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: The son has been heavily indoctrinated by his mother and his environment in Madison in victim/identity politics.

You know, I like Althouse and appreciate her work here so much that I’m not going to say what I think about this.

I’ve already said it plenty of times anyway. What’s the point of saying it again?; 1/30/20, 4:26 PM
Achilles said...: Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
If you think the biggest problem facing the country is the debt, which I do, who do you think makes the best candidate? I have come to the conclusion that it would be Bloomberg. Not sure what I can do with this information.

Only really stupid people think that is the biggest problem facing the country.; 1/30/20, 4:26 PM
Lucid-Ideas said...: I have yet to figure how sex became the all-encompassing definitive to peoples' politics and existence. The only time being gay is remotely political is when they're being thrown off buildings by Middle-Easterners or serving as incubation factories for a wide range of STDs while living among us.

Never before has such a small group of people sucked so much oxygen out of a room for such trifles.

Incidentally, Warren indicated she wanted to let a trans select the next Director of Education in her cabinet. You can't make this up.; 1/30/20, 4:26 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: The real problem that hangs over the whole post is that he wants somebody that he thinks can beat Trump, not somebody he really wants as POTUS for compelling reasons. In other words, he’s a Democrat in the year 2020.

Face it, Trump is a Democrat at heart and he took all of their best stuff, he’s got their lunch money and they don’t have a way of getting it back.

As a wise twitterer once said, ‘It’s easier for the right to move left on economics than it is for the left to move right on social issues."; 1/30/20, 4:26 PM
mccullough said...: Mayor Pete was not in the Army. He was in the Naval Reserves. Although he was in Afghanistan.

Also, while Indiana is a red state, South Bend is blue. It hasn’t had a GOP Mayor in almost 50 years.

And Teddy Roosevelt was not a good president.; 1/30/20, 4:27 PM
Achilles said...: I also want to join JAC in endorsing Buttigieg for the democrat nomination.

If they run mayor pete, whose only real qualification is he is gay, it will be the end of the black monolithic support of the democrat party and Hispanic voters will become a Republican block forever.; 1/30/20, 4:29 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: Bloomberg is going to have to tax the life out of the economy to do the stuff he is promising and not increase debt to a staggering degree.; 1/30/20, 4:29 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I don’t agree, but I’ll be damned if I’ll criticize the professor’s son.

You’re a proud momma, Althouse, and you should be.; 1/30/20, 4:32 PM
Jupiter said...: "If you think the biggest problem facing the country is the debt, which I do, who do you think makes the best candidate? I have come to the conclusion that it would be Bloomberg. Not sure what I can do with this information."

I would say, that since every last one of them, including Trump, has exactly zero intention of doing anything about the national debt, the criterion is unhelpful. But I will point out that Bloomberg is not actually running for President. He is pretending to run for President so he can make unlimited campaign donations to his preferred candidate.; 1/30/20, 4:33 PM
ga6 said...: Not difficult to understand: the son of a mildly left University Professor endorses the son of a extremely left university professor, all from the Midwest.; 1/30/20, 4:36 PM
narciso said...: he thinks wahhabists and committed Christians are much the same, he is entirely in the lap of the iran lobby, he's for the green nude eel, how does that solve anything,; 1/30/20, 4:36 PM
rehajm said...: He is pretending to run for President so he can make unlimited campaign donations to his preferred candidate.

He’s moved into fourth in the latest national polling. He’s not only able to funnel money to his preferred candidate he can help ensure a second vote to get her the nomination. (a bit of /sarc...but just a bit); 1/30/20, 4:36 PM
Achilles said...: Ok, mayor pete was a fucking fobbit.

Per wikipedia:

Buttigieg joined the U.S. Navy Reserve through the direct commission officer (DCO) program and was sworn in as an ensign in naval intelligence in September 2009.[50] In 2014, he took a seven-month leave during his mayoral term to deploy to Afghanistan.[51][52][53] While there, Buttigieg was part of a unit assigned to identify and disrupt terrorist finance networks. Part of this was done at Bagram Air Base, but he also worked as an armed driver for his commander on more than 100 trips into Kabul. Buttigieg has jokingly referred to this role as "military Uber", because he had to watch out for ambushes and explosive devices along the roads and ensure that the vehicle was guarded.[54] In order to better communicate with the local Afghans, he learned some Dari (a dialect of the Persian language). Buttigieg was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal[5] and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award[citation needed] and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy Reserve in 2017.[55][56]

He only got JSC and JM. He must have been terrible. Everyone gets theater medals. If you aren't a total crank you get some sort of commendation medal.

And Direct Commission? What the fuck is that bullshit?

If he had joined the army he would have received the army service ribbon.

We called it the gay pride medal.; 1/30/20, 4:39 PM
mccullough said...: There is no mention of what Mayor Pete did or didn’t do as mayor of South Bend.

There’s also no mention of what Klobuchar has done as a Senator.

Also, Mayor Pete has no kids. That’s worth mentioning. He might be young to be president but he’s old for not having kids.

Who wants a president without children?; 1/30/20, 4:39 PM
mccullough said...: Hunter Biden also had a direct commission to the Naval Reserves.; 1/30/20, 4:42 PM
Meade said...: After reading and enjoying John's well-researched well-written essay, I'm persuaded that Buttigieg will make the best presidential nominee for the Democratic Party in 2020. Who knows, I might even vote for Mayor Pete. In 2024.; 1/30/20, 4:48 PM
Achilles said...: mccullough said...
There is no mention of what Mayor Pete did or didn’t do as mayor of South Bend.

That's because he condemned a bunch of property owned by black and hispanic people an took their houses.

To promote "economic development."

“Part of the propaganda around this was, ‘Oh, my gosh, these are absentee landlords and they don’t care about their community. They don’t live here, and we’ve got to get these properties out of the hands of these irresponsible people,’” Williams-Preston said. “But what I think was missing — the gap in understanding how these communities work — is that a lot of these homes were owned by people who inherited them from their family who passed away, and/or they were living in the home and it got so bad and they couldn’t get any help for it, so they ended up having to move out.”

Please for the love of god nominate this man to head the democrat party.; 1/30/20, 4:49 PM
Diogenes of Sinope said...: Buttigieg is terrible on the issues.; 1/30/20, 4:49 PM
Big Mike said...: Ah, Senator Klobuchar, please tell me that that's bleu cheese dressing in your hair.; 1/30/20, 4:52 PM
Jim at said...: The fact a guy who can't even run a mid-sized city is considered a serious candidate for leader of the free world because of who he chooses to have in his bedroom - and ONLY because of who he chooses to have in his bedroom - boggles the mind.; 1/30/20, 4:52 PM
Dave Begley said...: "In addition to his Army service in Afghanistan, he was a mayor of a Midwestern city with a population of about 100,000 people."

And in his last election, he didn't even garner 10,000 votes. (Yeah, garner.)

Yeah, Mayor Pete is a good talker. A Harvard/Rhodes Scholar kind of good talker. But what has he done as Mayor? What has he accomplished? Deed, rather than words.

His record as Mayor is one of failure. The crime rate is through the roof. The police hate him.

Say what you want about Trump, but he was ultimately very successful in real estate and TV.

John's choices are the other Dems. They are all pretty much the same on the issues. But at least the others have some experience and some successes. Pete has none.

In any event, it won't make any difference. Any Dem nominee is going to be crushed by Trump.; 1/30/20, 4:57 PM
tcrosse said...: If the Democrats are that desperate to get rid of Trump, maybe they should impeach him.; 1/30/20, 4:57 PM
Curious George said...: "Common criticisms of Buttigieg are that he's young and inexperienced. President Buttigieg would be inaugurated the day after his 39th birthday, making him the youngest president ever. You could fairly worry about that. You could also argue he'd be in good company: Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest president ever, and is widely considered one of the best."

He was Governor of NY and VP prior.

"(For purposes of this post, I'll assume the problems with Trump are well-known and don't need to be repeated here. I can go into detail on that in a future post about who I'm going to vote for in the general election.)"

You really don't have to go into any more detail then "Democrat Candidate, duh."; 1/30/20, 4:57 PM
Francisco D said...: The everlasting legacy of the wonderful Mad magazine:

Alfred E. Neuman for President!!!; 1/30/20, 4:58 PM
Dave Begley said...: And JAC should know that Blacks won't vote for a gay guy. Harsh, but true.; 1/30/20, 5:00 PM
rhhardin said...: The young are the future, once they get older. Until then it's nonsense.; 1/30/20, 5:05 PM
Curious George said...: "Meade said...
After reading and enjoying John's well-researched well-written essay"

LOL stuff like this:

"He emphasizes moral virtues like courage, which, as he never fails to remind us, he's shown in his military service and in coming out as gay when he was up for reelection in the red state of Indiana."

South Bend is blue. Very blue. Being gay is a bonus. His point is as stupid as saying that Mark Pocan was courageous for coming out as gay in Madison. All the rest is what everyone knows. He just wants to be woke.; 1/30/20, 5:05 PM
Wince said...: The Sky — by John Wayne.

The Sky is blue, the Grass is green
Get off your Butt, and join the Marines; 1/30/20, 5:07 PM
gilbar said...: Our Beloved Professor's Son, said...
And how inexperienced is Buttigieg really? In addition to his Army service in Afghanistan[7 months at Bagram in the Naval Reserve], he was a mayor of a Midwestern city with a population of about 100,000 people.

We've never had someone who went directly from mayor to president, with nothing in between at a higher level than mayor. So his experience might not be ideal. Yet he has been the chief executive of a city government for 8 years, and there's some parallel between that and being president.

i Think the phrase to describe this, is: Clutching at Straws
Seriously, If a Straight White guy (let's call him Donald) had, as his COMPLETE List of Qualifications;
that he'd had a Direct Commission into the Naval Reserve,
was 2 term Mayor of a small midwestern town,
AND (finally!) knew (sorta) the Dari dialect of Persian...
Would John want him?

Y'all Realize, don't ya; that Hunter Biden (LITERALLY!) has more executive experience?; 1/30/20, 5:08 PM
Achilles said...: Meade said...
After reading and enjoying John's well-researched well-written essay, I'm persuaded that Buttigieg will make the best presidential nominee for the Democratic Party in 2020. Who knows, I might even vote for Mayor Pete. In 2024.

I would call you a troll.

But you re married.

So we understand why you said this.; 1/30/20, 5:09 PM
Meade said...: "And JAC should know that Blacks won't vote for a gay guy. Harsh, but true."

Protestant voters wouldn't vote for JFK. But he was elected.

White working-class voters wouldn't vote for BHO. But he was elected.

And no one would vote for Donald Trump. But...; 1/30/20, 5:12 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Just saw the NPR poll for California- a shocker. Bernie up 15 points on Biden.; 1/30/20, 5:12 PM
gilbar said...: Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest president ever, and is widely considered one of the best."

He was Governor of NY and VP prior.

Don't Forget:
COLONEL
Recruiter
Ranch Owner
Renowned Author of, among other works; The Naval War of 1812...
The book is considered one of the best in its field. It was a considerable achievement for the 23-year-old Roosevelt, who had to learn the technical side of naval terminology and technology. While it was criticized by some for being scholarly and boring, it did well, going through four editions in six years. In 1886, just four years after being published, the U.S. Navy ordered a copy of the book to be placed on every ship; 1/30/20, 5:16 PM
DKWalser said...: My son and his family lived in South Bend until quite recently. He has a very low opinion of Pete Buttigieg's work as a mayor. Based on that close observation, my son is convinced Buttigieg would be a very poor president.; 1/30/20, 5:17 PM
Dave Begley said...: Meade:

I agree that the Dems should nominate Pete based upon your reasoning. And lose every single state in the South.

And I knew Jack Kennedy. Mayor Pete is no Jack Kennedy.; 1/30/20, 5:17 PM
Meade said...: Good one, DB!; 1/30/20, 5:19 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: For that matter, Jack Kennedy was no Jack Kennedy.

He was a disastrously reckless, over indulged spoiled child.; 1/30/20, 5:21 PM
Curious George said...: "It's understandable to care at least as much about other barriers that would be broken by other candidates, including Klobuchar as the first woman. Most of the presidential firsts that could happen in the future (as far as gender, race, religion, etc.) can't happen in this one election. But if the first openly gay president isn't Buttigieg, it might not be anyone else for a very long time. When I see him and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, I wonder how much longer we'd have to wait for another opportunity like this."

Yes let's elect the gay dude because it would be awesome. And spectacular. Not a deep thinker.; 1/30/20, 5:23 PM
Seeing Red said...: Gee voting for a nag who uses Christianity to scold who was raised by a commie because....; 1/30/20, 5:26 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: The mythology of Jack and Bobby and Camelot is the dumbest and deepest bile of bullshit in politics.

I live in the NE and I know where it comes from. The NE and the Ivy League are still, to this day, smitten with idiot awe over aristocracy.

This worship of the Kennedys is backward, yokel crap.; 1/30/20, 5:31 PM
Sebastian said...: First gay president! Would reduce homophobia!

Inexperienced? No prob: so was TR!

"Agile" veteran!

Looks like JAC got his mother's powers of rationalization.

Hey, JAC, hey, Althouse, here's a question: what has Trump done wrong? What don't you like--growth, low unemployment, fewer illegals, pressure on China, sensible judges, resisting the attempted coup, support for Israel, pressure on Iran, keeping the peace? Really, why change? Is it all about abortion and gay identify politics?; 1/30/20, 5:41 PM
walter said...: It's high time.
He wants it.; 1/30/20, 5:41 PM
pacwest said...: Serious question to JAC. Is it really that tough being a gay in America that we need to elect a man who's main contribution is that he represents less than 5% of the population?; 1/30/20, 5:42 PM
readering said...: If he's polling the best among the under-74 on California primary day I'll vote for him. I'm a never-Biden-Bloomberg-Sanders guy.; 1/30/20, 5:44 PM
readering said...: "He was a disastrously reckless, over indulged spoiled child."

That should work as an epitaph for DJT.; 1/30/20, 5:45 PM
tcrosse said...: One barrier which cries out to be broken is that no president has been elected whose name begins with certain "forbidden" letters of the alphabet. No D, no Q, no I, no S, no U, and certainly no X, Y. or Z. How much longer will we, the People, have to wait for this egregious failure to be addressed?; 1/30/20, 5:47 PM
AllenS said...: Klobuchar is having some big problems at home --

LINK TEXT

She can forget about the black vote.; 1/30/20, 5:57 PM
Chris of Rights said...: Mayor Pete lost all credibility with me with his way over-the-top lying and undeserved attacks on Mike Pence. Pence has issues, but he has never treated Pete with anything less than total respect and thoughtfulness.

Pete is a dirtbag.; 1/30/20, 5:57 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "After reading and enjoying John's well-researched well-written essay, I'm persuaded that Buttigieg will make the best presidential nominee for the Democratic Party in 2020. Who knows, I might even vote for Mayor Pete. In 2024."

Heh. Same!; 1/30/20, 5:59 PM
Dude1394 said...: A closed mind is a terrible thing.; 1/30/20, 5:59 PM
madAsHell said...: I have yet to figure how sex became the all-encompassing definitive to peoples' politics and existence.

Have you tried sex??; 1/30/20, 6:01 PM
JackWayne said...: Shorter JAC. Red diaper babies gotta stick together.; 1/30/20, 6:07 PM
rcocean said...: If Mayor Pete, why not my local Target Manager? He's runs a pretty good store. Seems super-sharp.

No one has gone from Mayor to Presidential nominee of R or D in one swoop. And its not even clear how a mayor Buttigig is. So, why is he getting attention? Easy. He's young, he's Gay, and he's cute as a button.

But President? Forget it.; 1/30/20, 6:15 PM
Friendo said...: pathetic; 1/30/20, 6:15 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Pete and Chasten Buttiguig

... nice chaps!; 1/30/20, 6:18 PM
bagoh20 said...: The tribal mind is a small mind.

You can't be serious. The man can't run a small city well? What exactly are his qualifications? Not that he's any worse than the other Democrats, but you have to have something special in the experience, skills, and accomplishment realm for a job this important. Hiring a POTUS is not a form of person self-expression. It's a serious responsibility. The most serious one on Earth, and you have the incredible luck to be able to choose the person, and this is what you do with that amazing duty. You pick some failed small-town mayor? C'mon, man!; 1/30/20, 6:25 PM
n.n said...: Compare and contrast to Sarah Palin.

She was a mayor, a governor. A feminine female with Constitutional principles, neither trendy nor lefty.; 1/30/20, 6:28 PM
bagoh20 said...: If you are determined to vote against success, keeping promises, and unprecedented positive results, then Buttigieg is as good a choice as any. If Trump loses, you will get exactly what you voted for. Unfortunately, so will the rest of us.; 1/30/20, 6:31 PM
bagoh20 said...: "She was a mayor, a governor. A feminine female with Constitutional principles, neither trendy nor lefty."

Let's not forget that she also preferred men, so she should be irresistible.; 1/30/20, 6:33 PM
Lurker21 said...: Buttigieg looks like a disaster waiting to happen. Another overconfident Harvard/Oxford product with little real understanding of the world. There is the old story that Robert Frost told to "be more Irish than Harvard." It's hard to say whether Kennedy took that advice, though I'm inclined to say he didn't.

Bill Clinton, certainly was more Arkansas swamp creature than Oxonian, and that may be why he was able to function as president. He had backwoods cunning and the wisdom of the serpent, and didn't overvalue glibness and intellectual displays. Even Obama knew that he couldn't be too Harvard - that a touch of Chicago would help him - even though he had trouble following through with that.

Pete has a classic mix of arrogance, smugness, and self-righteousness that leads him to pontificate about things he really doesn't know much about. I also don't think he'd exactly be ready to take over on day one. As with Harris, Buttigieg takes so much really disgusting abuse from the "boomer rubes" that I'd like to feel some sympathy for him, but I really can't.

And about "boomer rubes" - I just noticed that it's "ageist," an age-related insult, and that Rick Wilson is a boomer -- and very much a rube -- himself.; 1/30/20, 6:34 PM
Lurker21 said...: Buttigieg is actually running for something else: cabinet secretary, foundation or think-tank head, college president, DNC chief. He'll get that job, move east, run for Congress, and pop up in the presidential race again in about ten years. By that time, he will have gotten lifts in his shoes, adopted a child, and dumped Chasten.; 1/30/20, 6:38 PM
Seeing Red said...: First gay president! Would reduce homophobia!

Like Barack would bring us together!

How’d that work out?

BTW, it seems there might be less racial tension now. I wonder why?; 1/30/20, 6:40 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Next year the debt will top a trillion dollars and GDP will be below 2%. How is the debt not the biggest problem we face?; 1/30/20, 6:40 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Trump has only made the debt problem significantly worse and the Dems are not serious about debt reduction either. Bloomberg might actually do something.; 1/30/20, 6:44 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "The President and First Bottom"; 1/30/20, 6:58 PM
JackWayne said...: ARM, a bigger threat is the quadrillions of derivatives held by public banks and central banks.; 1/30/20, 7:04 PM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: Disappointed in JAC. I can see why he wants to vote for the first gay President. However, any vote for a Democrat is an endorsement of the left's fascist tactics over the last four years. Dems need to be punished. If not, there is no future for this republic.; 1/30/20, 7:10 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: You favor restoring the Glass-Steagall Act? Must admit Bloomberg is unlikely to do that.; 1/30/20, 7:14 PM
Lurker21 said...: Could anybody get enthusiastic about Amy Klobuchar? The party's left wing certainly can't. But neither can the party Establishment. Would you want her futzing around in your wine cave? African-Americans, Hispanics, Labor, even women: is anybody going to go to the mat for Amy?

It's not surprising that on SNL she's played by Rachel Dratch. Sorry to say but there's a frumpiness in both, and more than a touch of Debby Downer or Wendy Whiner in Klobuchar. The irony, though, of her anti-Trump commercial, "We don't need a whiner in the White House" was something truly brilliant. Either the staff was playing a cruel trick on Amy, or that "whiner" thing got stuck in their heads and came out in a commercial against Orange Man.

So is it wrong or unfair that somebody without magnetism or charisma or much of a personality can't rise to the nation's highest office, or that if your father was a mailman you have to go to work at a (since failed) investment bank to have the minimum polish to even be considered for president? Probably, but lack of charisma can also reflect other faults or deficiencies. Not that charisma is any guarantee of worthiness, but it wasn't hard to see that boring Walter Mondale just didn't have the right stuff. Maybe Al Franken should have run this time. Scandal/nonscandal notwithstanding, he just might have won.; 1/30/20, 7:24 PM
Seeing Red said...: Next year the debt will top a trillion dollars and GDP will be below 2%. How is the debt not the biggest problem we face?

Did you care when Barack doubled it?; 1/30/20, 7:36 PM
TJM said...: John if he is endorsing little Pete, seriously needs to be re-educated outside of the libtard bubble; 1/30/20, 7:43 PM
Seeing Red said...: Soap Opera decision.; 1/30/20, 7:52 PM
John Althouse Cohen said...: Apologies for getting his military branch wrong! Thanks to all those who pointed out my error. I've corrected it.; 1/30/20, 8:11 PM
Doug said...: Your gay son endorses a candidate with no visible qualifications for high office, but who identifies himself by where he puts his dick. I'm shocked ... shocked.; 1/30/20, 8:16 PM
Jupiter said...: "Next year the debt will top a trillion dollars and GDP will be below 2%. How is the debt not the biggest problem we face?"

We're all gonna die! How is that not the biggest problem we face?

Hint; when there is no solution, there is no problem.; 1/30/20, 8:27 PM
cubanbob said...: Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
Trump has only made the debt problem significantly worse and the Dems are not serious about debt reduction either. Bloomberg might actually do something."

Oh wise one, how much spending is Bloomberg going to cut to balance the budget?; 1/30/20, 8:46 PM
mccullough said...: I do agree that Mayor Pete is not as bad as Klobuchar. And that being mayor of any town is better experience than being a Senator.

At the Kavanaugh hearings, Klobuchar called out her dad for being a drunk. Appalling. Never take sides against the family in public.

The only thing worse than a drunk is the grown child of a drunk.

Angry Amy. Makes her staff toss her salad; 1/30/20, 9:06 PM
mccullough said...: I agree with JAC that no experience really qualifies someone to be a decent president.

Trump had zero political experience, which has been mostly a plus.

But Mayor Pete has that Ivy League and McKinsey Consulting view of things. It’s a totally warped and fucking stupid way to look at things. It’s the kind of thinking that handed over chunks of our country to China. It’s what leads to open borders philosophy.

Mayor Pete is just the same as Jared Kushner. They are both totally useless crony capitalists bent on social justice fads and inane theories.; 1/30/20, 9:14 PM
rightguy said...: Mayor Pete's proposed criminal justice reforms need to be viewed in light of his actual performance in South Bend: dismal with a 70% increase in violent crime during his tenure. You can debate the reasons why this so, but its a really bad result and it happened on his watch. He hasn't any idea how to protect the good people of his community from hardened criminals.

Not to mention his sanctimonious criticisms of VP Pence and President Trump- in my experience, anyone who thinks he knows what God or Jesus would do about US immigration policy, gay rights, or putative AGW, is seriously deluded.

No thanks- Pete B would be an unmitigated disaster as POTUS.; 1/30/20, 9:15 PM
bagoh20 said...: "How is the debt not the biggest problem we face?"

It's been continuously stated as such most of my life. I can't think of any other problem that has been so elevated for so long intellectually, but that's not what motivates the people. So we all know, and we really don't care enough. Nobody who wants to get elected can ever offer up real solutions I've given up caring, because I don't think it's politically possible to ever solve it until it's too late, which was probably years ago anyway. If you really wanted to fix the debt, who would you vote for? Any solution would be dead on arrival in this democracy.

The only possible solution would be powerful growth combined with fiscal restraint, which is only realistic via very open markets and cutting government handouts. Two things that partisans and activists and the media will never let happen. The problem is so unsolvable in our system that the issue has no real relevance other than political football.; 1/30/20, 9:24 PM
bagoh20 said...: There most certainly is experience that qualifies someone for President. Not that it guarantees anything, but the idea that any job is such that no qualification is better than more is pretty silly.

The job entails making life and death decisions about big projects and large organizations, in competitive environments central to the interests of the people you represent and involve managing large groups of people, many being either employees, or the equivalent of them, and all being stockholders needing you representing them in high pressure, high stakes challenges. Anyone with such experience automatically has political experience to some degree. Even this experience could still come up short under some conditions, but someone with no such experience? That's just illogical, and counterfactual.

If you were being charged with murder, would you ask for an experienced criminal defense attorney or be fine just picking someone from the phone book. Is there any job of even mediocre importance that you would hire for without any qualifications, or more applicable to this, a job other people need done. Would you pick a non-attorney randomly off the street to represent your son or brother in a murder trial, because you like them or agree with them on politics?; 1/30/20, 10:09 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Shouting Thomas said...
The mythology of Jack and Bobby and Camelot is the dumbest and deepest bile of bullshit in politics.

I live in the NE and I know where it comes from. The NE and the Ivy League are still, to this day, smitten with idiot awe over aristocracy."

That's funny because I imagine when the Kennedys first burst upon the scene, there were still plenty of snobby old money Boston WASPs around who thought the Kennedys were nothing but a bunch of vulgar, nouveau riche thugs just a couple of generations away from the potato patch.

Now they're America's Aristocrats.; 1/30/20, 10:10 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: "Hiring a POTUS is not a form of person self-expression. "

Paleface Warren just took the left's obsession with identity politics to its' logical end point when she said that "a young trans person" will vet her Secretary of Education.

Why stop there? Young representatives from every "oppressed" minority group should get to pick the entire cabinet. The important thing is not competence, but a Cabinet that looks like America.

CNN (yeah, I know) actually criticized the CDC reps who met with Trump to discuss the Corona virus because the doctors and scientists present were mainly white guys. Let's hope for Gaia's sake that at least a few of them were gay.; 1/30/20, 10:27 PM
Ray said...: Shouting Thomas. Politically I agree with a lot of what you believe. Often you are too over-the-top for my taste, but to each his own. This is the best response I've ever heard from you. Your respect for the Professor is admirable and she deserves it. BRAVO!; 1/30/20, 10:54 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: The debt will not be addressed until there is some incentive to address it.; 1/31/20, 12:08 AM
Achilles said...: Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
Next year the debt will top a trillion dollars and GDP will be below 2%. How is the debt not the biggest problem we face?

Meh.

We will only drop down below 2% growth if we elect democrats. Easy peasy just don't elect statist shitheads president.

Or Print some money.

Auction off a medium sized county in California.

The best option however would be to elect someone who carries Trump's policies in 2024 and keep our GDP growth between 3 and 4% for 10 years.; 1/31/20, 12:50 AM
gadfly said...: If the Democrats want to win the election, their best strategy is to throw out the ultra-leftists - Bernie, Lizzie and Tom Steyer - put the old men, Plugs Biden and Bloomberg, to bed and draft Michelle My Belle or Pencil Neck Schiff at the convention. Name recognition and warm feelings are everything now-a-days. Amy Klobuchar wins elections so she is a smart VP choice.

As for Boot-edge-edge, he is pretending to be from flyover country, but he was educated in the Ivy and he worked for (gasp) McKinsey.; 1/31/20, 12:59 AM
Clyde said...: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?
Is the country better off now than it was four years ago, by just about every objective measure?
Are any of the Democratic candidates likely to make you answer either of those questions with a Yes four years from now?
You know what to do.; 1/31/20, 3:14 AM
jeremyabrams said...: Plenty of gay Americans are poor, and they are being lifted up by Trump, and will be cast down by Buttigieg's policies. An effective friend of gays is better than a man who happens to be gay. This is the worst and most divisive kind of identity politics.; 1/31/20, 5:29 AM
Lincolntf said...: Buttigieg embodies the same fear and loathing of the individual that animates most of the Left. I'm sorry your son is attracted by those ideals, I find them repulsive.; 1/31/20, 5:46 AM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Buttigieg is an unserious choice, but the country's financial situation is a serious problem that has declined significantly under Trump. I agree with another poster that the bank's problems may be as big a threat as the government's. In principle Bloomberg is the best positioned of any politician to deal with these problems.; 1/31/20, 6:22 AM
stan said...: can't fix stupid; 1/31/20, 9:16 AM
Jupiter said...: "The debt will not be addressed until there is some incentive to address it."

America's financial elites have decided to try an experiment. The experiment is to finance massive spending with debt, not taxes. They have been doing it for 12 years now, and so far, the inflation anyone who lived through the 70's expected has not arrived. I am not sure why that is so, it makes no sense to me. But as long as it continues, the debt will not be a political issue.; 1/31/20, 9:53 AM
n.n said...: The single, biggest contributor to the debt is progressive prices for "health" care, including Obamacare that shifted responsibility in the short-term.; 1/31/20, 9:55 AM
PM said...: Headline in today's SF Chronicle:
BUTTIGIEG SCORES BACKING OF MAJOR LGBTQ GROUP; 1/31/20, 11:17 AM
Lars Porsena said...: John Althouse Cohen said...
Apologies for getting his military branch wrong! Thanks to all those who pointed out my error. I've corrected it.
1/30/20, 8:11 PM

----------------------------------------------
Why, when there is a war in a land-locked country, does someone seek service in the
Naval Reserve?

How are tits on a boar hog useful?; 1/31/20, 12:14 PM
Bilwick said...: So son John is one of the Dumbest Generation who value statism over liberty? You should have raised him better.; 1/31/20, 1:52 PM
Maillard Reactionary said...: That rascal, keeping us in suspense so long! Was he always so full of surprises, Ann?

(I'm not talking about that first big "surprise" he had for you... most mothers just find their longstanding suspicions confirmed when that one's delivered.); 1/31/20, 4:39 PM