Jennifer Rubin on Pete

[MBS]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/20/buttigieg-doesnt-raise-his-voice-thank-goodness/

We have heard over and over again that voters ready to kick a president or a president’s party out of the White House want the opposite of the president they want to boot out. . .. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg has a good claim to be Trump’s opposite. Trump found a way out of the draft; Buttigieg volunteered to serve. Buttigieg is married to his one and only spouse, Chasten; Trump has had three wives, apparently more than one adulterous relationship and a list of more than a dozen accusers who say he sexually assaulted or harassed them. Buttigieg speaks multiple languages; Trump’s English grows noticeably more incoherent with the passage of time. Buttigieg is 37 and looks even younger; Trump is 73 and looks older.

In Iowa, voters say Buttigieg is “intelligent,” “humble” and decent. He’s optimistic and sunny. Yup, Trump’s opposite. One report recorded voters’ reactions:

“I really like Mayor Pete,” said Lisa West, as she packed up her lawn chair after the Fairfield [Iowa] event. “He just stands for the values that we have, which is people first, not money, getting corporate interests out of government — all the basics. We need to take our country back. As a people, we need to be more active in the political structure, and he sounds like somebody who knows that.” Buttigieg’s resistance to dwelling on Trump appealed to West and her husband, John.“You got to restrain yourself from giving him the attention that he is seeking,” said John West, of Fairfield. “There’s no question we got to get him out of there, but if you put too much focus on the negative and not the positive and the policies and plans that you’re going to do, it’s not going to work.”

In some ways, Buttigieg is also the opposite of many of his opponents, and therefore stands out, a real advantage in a field that tops 20 people. Buttigieg is composed and speaks in quiet but firm tones. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) yells for no apparent reason. Former vice president Joe Biden is extraordinarily wary (even for a politician) of admitting errors. Buttigieg took ownership of the police shooting in his city. Most of the other contenders seem allergic to talking about foreign policy or talk in sound bites. He gave a nuanced, thoughtful speech on foreign policy.

. . . Likewise, Buttigieg’s promise to “turn the channel” offers the hope of getting Trump’s voice and face off our screens. It’s not unreasonable to pine for someone who tries to get the facts right and feels bad when he messes up. Whatever ideological differences the non-cultists in the Trump era have, we’re bound by a desire for normalcy, calm, reason and respect. If nothing else, it has reminded many Democrats and just about all the NeverTrumpers I talk to that we share not only a concern for the rule of law, a free press, an independent judiciary and a values-based foreign policy, but also a yearning, as George H.W. Bush said (perhaps the last president to enjoy broad, bipartisan affection), for a kinder and gentler America. If that’s the dominant mood, then Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and other less rhetorically high-flying candidates may enjoy a resurgence of support. There are a lot of voters out there who’d like to make “Iowa Nice” into “America Nice.”