Buttigieg, the son of two professors at the University of Notre Dame, began collecting honors while still in high school, being a national winner of the JFK Profiles in Courage essay contest. Ironically, his subject was Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, now one of his fellow candidates in the presidential race.
Buttigieg graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and was chosen as a Rhodes Scholar to study at Oxford for two years, where he won first class honors in philosophy, politics, and economics. An officer in the U.S. Naval Reserves, he has served a tour of duty in Afghanistan. At age 29, he was elected to his first term as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, easily winning a second term with 80% of the vote. He chose not to seek a third term in order to run for president.
His popularity as mayor is well deserved, from fixing potholes to spearheading major redevelopment projects to revitalize the city, while also making it more livable with bike and pedestrian trails. He's also known for fostering a climate of inclusiveness and acceptance of all groups within his city. A New York Times op-ed praised Buttigieg's mayoral success and speculated that he might eventually be elected as our "first gay president."
In 2015 he publicly acknowledged that he is gay, and two years later he announced his engagement to a man he had been dating for two years. They married in a ceremony in a South Bend Episcopal church in 2018.
Since announcing his run just a few weeks ago, the Washington Post reports that: "he has become, if not exactly well-known, a subject of interest for many Democratic voters, buoyed by a breakout performance at a CNN town hall on March 10.
And, by the way, his name is pronounced "boot-edge-edge." Remember it. You'll be hearing more from him.
As a popular mayor in a state carried by Donald Trump in 2016 (Indiana) and where Mike Pence was its most recent governor, Buttigieg knows how to reach out to Republican voters who, he says, have too often been ignored by Democrats in the past.
The Washington Post article says many Democrats "praised the way he went after Vice President Pence, a vocal religious conservative, describing him on CNN as 'the cheerleader of the porn star presidency'," given the way his job seems to be standing in the background at photo-ops, gazing with fake, rapt adoration for the commander-in-chief. And then he asked whether Pence had stopped believing in the Bible when he started believing in Trump.
Buttigieg comes across as straight-forward, unpretentious, authentic. "I'm not skilled enough or energetic enough to craft a persona. I just have to be who I am and hope people like it," he says. "I think people in our party tie themselves up in pretzels trying to be more electable."
According to the Post, "he fields questions differently from most other candidates, leaning on numbers and context and maintaining a noteworthy willingness to answer 'yes' or 'no'." And then he tells you why. His policy positions fall well within the progressive wing of the party, although his approach is also very practical. He supports the Green New Deal as a "good start" in tackling the climate crisis; he supports single payer health insurance but wants insurance companies to be involved; he opposes Trump's handling of immigration.
But perhaps nothing quite shows the measure of this young man as much as the open letter he wrote to the Muslim community of South Bend after the New Zealand massacre, which I quote in part:
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"Dear members of the Islamic Society of Michana. Good evening and peace be with you.". . . I was shocked by this morning's news of events in New Zealand. I know that this act of terror was intended to put fear in our hearts, and that the fear was designed to travel around the world. We are a long way from the place where this happened, but I know that on this Jummah Friday, many in our community, especially people of Muslim faith, are wondering if they are safe or even if they belong.
"As you gather this evening, I write to tell you that this city is absolutely committed to your safety and well-being. I want you to know that this entire City has its arms around you, in love and peace, and that we support you as you practice your faith here in this community, our community, this home we share. . .
"I write not only to console you and to reassure you, but to ask something of you. I wish to tell you not only that you are loved but also that you are needed. This City very much needs you at a time like this, because you help to demonstrate the values and desires that we all have in common. In your community involvement . . . in your very presence -- when . . . you bring your stories and traditions to the tapestry of this City and country, you are not only exercising a right, you are also bearing a gift. . . .
"[Y]ou have an equal claim on the blessings of life in this community, and a great deal to contribute. . . . We are thankful to count you among us."
"Sincerely,
"Pete"
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He may be the youngest in the race (Beto is a decade older than Pete); but this man has the maturity and empathy that we cry out for in this troubled time.
