Did you see the Democratic debate this week?
Did you see the Democratic debate this week?
My take was fairly conventional: Pete Buttigieg won.
It’s really just too bad he (and, to a lesser extent, Amy Klobuchar and Kamala Harris) didn’t decide to court centrist voters, sooner. Instead, they pandered to the left—which was a mistake, since you were never going to get to the left of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Regardless, Buttigieg was the most talented political “athlete” (to borrow a term from Pat Buchanan) on the debate stage, and he has a real shot of winning Iowa—and of being picked as someone’s running mate in 2020. Were it not for his original decision to pander to the left, he might have gone even further.
The reason there is newfound space for another centrist in the Democratic field is because Joe Biden continues to underwhelm us (if some evil scientist could just transplant Buttigieg’s eloquence and energy into Joe Biden’s body, he would probably have an unbeatable candidate).
As it stands, it’s looking increasingly doubtful that Biden can fend off Elizabeth Warren.
In my book, Warren is too progressive, evasive, and condescending to support. But her worst attribute is probably the fact that she doesn’t match up well against Trump—especially when you realize the electoral college will come down to states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
I’m not saying Warren can’t win there, but if Democrats really believe Trump is an existential threat, they ought to nominate someone who will play better in the Rust Belt. Like Biden.
I could go on, but if you’re interested in hearing more debate thoughts, I invite you to check out my conversation with Politico Magazine’s Bill Scher (we also talk about robots and nepotism).
I also have a favor: From time to time, I have invited you to live podcast tapings and “meet-ups.” Over at my Patreon page, we sometimes do “Ask Matt Anything” Q&As. But I’m always looking for ways we can better connect and build community. If you have any thoughts, please let me know!
Lastly, as of now (these things sometimes change), I am scheduled to be on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” on Sunday morning at 11am ET.
Set your TiVo or DVRs.
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