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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (402499)	3/12/2019 12:51:33 PM
From: Sam	1 Recommendation Recommended By JohnM Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 542836

Get ready for Pete Buttigieg By Jennifer Rubin Opinion writer March 11 at 12:30 PM Get ready for the Buttigieg boomlet. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg had a stellar showing on CNN’s town hall with him Sunday night, confirming a dispiriting truism about our politics. With eight years as mayor, military service and direct, substantive answers to questions, he is not considered a front-runner, but consider that a former congressman who’s yet to give a meaty policy address or explain his vision (other than togetherness) is about to enter the race and sprint near the top of the pack. Could voters actually listen for an hour, hear Buttigieg and decide, “Hey, maybe celebrity status isn’t a qualification or even a desirable trait in a candidate. Maybe I should go with the guy who has something to say about important issues and has run something”? Yes, Buttigieg gave a great sound-bite answer about Vice President Pence — wondering whether he “stopped believing in scripture when he started believing in Donald Trump.” However, that wasn’t the best part of his appearance. Buttigieg was impressive because he spoke directly, without political buzzwords or hyperbole. He actually answered questions and he had a comfort level with policy, even foreign policy(!), that many other candidates don’t. He was asked about Venezuela. “Well, the situation in Venezuela is highly disturbing. And I think that the Maduro regime has lost its legitimacy,” he explained. “That’s why it’s not just the U.S. but 50 countries that have declined to recognize the legitimacy of that regime.” He continued, “That being said, that doesn’t mean we just carelessly threaten the use of military force, which is what it appeared the national security adviser was doing at one point, kind of hinting that troops might be sent to South America.” He took a swipe at national security adviser John Bolton (“I don’t understand how somebody who was involved in leading us into the Iraq War is allowed that near to the Situation Room to begin with”, but then answered smartly, “I don’t mean to disagree that we need to support democratic outcomes in that country. And so to the extent that sanctions can be targeted and can be focused on trying to bring about new free and fair elections so that there can be self-determination by the Venezuelan people, that puts in a government that I think has that legitimacy, then we should do our part not through force but through the diplomatic tool kit in order to try to bring that outcome about.” That might be the best answer on Venezuela I’ve heard from any Democratic candidate — maybe the best foreign policy answer, period. He’s not shy about supporting democracy or afraid to denounce Nicolás Maduro, but he rightly says this isn’t a situation that would be improved by use of American troops. He gave a similarly cogent answer on health care. I’ll quote in it full because it had the benefit of being specific, rational and personal: continues at washingtonpost.com [This is probably the longest column I've seen her or anyone else write. More links on Buttigieg came at the end of the piece: Read more: Jennifer Rubin: What Pete Buttigieg brings to the 2020 race Karen Tumulty: What does Pete Buttigieg bring to the table? Experience — really. Evan Wolfson: Pete Buttigieg’s radical normalcy Jonathan Capehart: Everyone’s talking about Beto and Biden. But here’s another ‘B’ you should know. The Ranking Committee: 2020 hopefuls are hopping off the fence. But one’s already on deathwatch.