(06-10-2019, 08:33 AM)mikesez Wrote:

(06-10-2019, 07:02 AM)homebiscuit Wrote: Buttigieg is a sloganeer. He gives the pat answers and talks around the edges. My guess is he's hoping his age and sexuality will endear him to 'woke' voters.

There was a slot in the race for a young, fresh face who didn't have a long record.  No one would expect him to have specific ideas. I thought O'Rourke was going to take that spot, but Buttigieg has taken it, so far. His status as a minority makes a few voters like him more,  "I must be a nice person after all because I supported a minority to be President." But he's leapfrogged over two black candidates, an Asian, and a Latino, so there's more to his appeal than just that.

If you really want to split people up that much, then all of us belong to some kind of minority.   I don't consider gays a "minority" any more than I consider Italian-Americans a minority, or short people, or blondes.  It's just a characteristic that doesn't mean that much to me.

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(06-10-2019, 08:36 AM)StroudCrowd1 Wrote:

(06-10-2019, 08:32 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: Well, of course this is a purely subjective judgment, but he appears to be a lot more likable than say, Elizabeth Warren.  In contrast to a lot of the others, his smiles and jokes don't seem to be as forced and fake.   

Besides the relaxed appearance that I see, what Homebiscuit says, "He gives the pat answers and talks around the edges."   That's how politicians get elected.  It's a skill.  Don't be too specific.  Be all things to all people, if possible.  

I just think he's got some political skills and he's got the likability factor.  He's the non-threatening, next-door neighbor kind of guy.  He wears well.  He seems relaxed.   

Don't sell him short, because, even though he's a 37 year old mayor of an insignificant town, he basically tied for 2nd in the Iowa polls.

I don't disagree that he is more likable than Warren. I mean, who isn't? Not being too specific will get you through a primary, but people expect more detail in a general. The Democratic primary is going to be one for the ages. My only question is, how far left can someone actually go in a primary that makes it impossible to return to the center in the general?

Also, 37 is too young to be president IMO. Not sure what the founders were thinking there.

Life expectancy was a lot less back then.  37 was considered pretty mature.  

Your question about going left in the primary and getting back to the center in the general is of course one of the most important questions.  That's why putting specific proposals out there can be a big mistake.  The farther a candidate can get without making specific proposals, the better off they will be.

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