These are exciting times. What we do now, matters. How we move forward with structural and policy reforms and who we elect to lead us to a better place will have historic consequences. We must speak locally and nationally to the concerns of Americans who feel disregarded and taken for granted—people of color and whites who have in common feelings of alienation, detachment, and distrust, despite their contrasting stories. We must speak to the concerns of people from the cities and people from the country, Americans on the coasts, in the South, in the West, and in the Heartland. We need a leader who can convey nuance with precision, who can be a teacher, and who, though a student of history, keeps his or her sights aimed on what might be. What America needs is Pete Buttigieg as president.
I love this country, and I believe in us. One of our greatest strengths is our diversity because from it pours a wealth of innovation, inspiration, ambition, and, eventually, tolerance. We persevere with our founding principles of self rule, hard work, and dedication. We endure because of our humanity and our sense of obligation to one another. The next president of the United States must understand this, Pete Buttigieg understands this.
Voters, notwithstanding recent election results, often have a keen sense for what America needs, especially when those needs are most acute. We should listen to those who voted, and those who didn’t, as they cry out for leadership. Russia’s interference with the 2016 election was subversive and an act of cold war. It employed ugly propaganda to convince voters that, among other things, Democrats do not care about us and are cynically opportunistic and Donald Trump is “the real deal.” I don’t believe that any of this is true, but, here’s the thing, it often takes a grain of underlying truth to make a lie effective. Perhaps Democrats have unintentionally taken some voters for granted over the years or maybe we haven’t quite delivered on a generation of promises made. And Donald Trump, compulsive liar though he is, is emotionally transparent and did run on a vow to disrupt. Despite the unfortunate result, we should listen to the messages voters sent.
In every speech, in every interview, Pete Buttigieg tells me that he gets it. He understands that America’s political leadership has not helpfully addressed the needs of millions of voters. The daily stressors that wear on us: traffic, child care bills, health care bills, education bills, substandard schools, unwarranted attention from law enforcement and worse, unappreciated dedication to a difficult job and worse, wages and salaries that can’t pay the bills, alcohol and drug addiction and PTSD, the ever-diminishing right to choose, the high price of housing, the low demand for domestic crops, growing threats of storms and droughts and fires, constant threats of terrorism foreign and domestic, unpaid maternity leave or no leave, limited freedom to be who we are, unequal pay or consideration, more traffic. These stressors affect each of us every day, taking their toll, knocking us off our game. While all of the Democratic candidates understand each of these stressors, Pete Buttigieg seems to grasp the bigger picture, how together they demand a fresh approach to governing, how voters are crying out for something new.
The United States, and much of the world, is at a crossroads. In this age of philosophical, social, and technological transition, the choices we make now will determine who we will be for many, many years to come. I recognize in Mayor Pete a vision and mission I can embrace and a manner I have missed.
Buttigieg’s approach to voters and issues, how he emphasizes what individuals need from their government, is compelling because it exhibits a penetrating impartiality that has the potential to heal our country’s great rifts. This refrain from judgment when addressing demographic groups and his sense of history while looking forward makes Buttigieg stand out from the crowd. The way he connects with people from all walks of life, all backgrounds, all interests, from everywhere, this is the stuff of great candidates. The way he looks at old problems through a modern frame of reference and has a creative sensibility, this is the stuff of great leaders. And the way he dances with Trump is masterful. Combine these rare qualities and abilities with a mayor’s appreciation for practical innovation, and you get someone special, someone new.
As Buttigieg says, where there is nostalgia in the past for some, there is pain for others. Even if we had come from a utopia, you can’t ever go back. Change is certain, for better or worse. We need someone who not only recognizes this, but who embraces it and is able to convey to the American people an excitement, maybe even anticipation.
Mayor Pete has the ability to build bridges, rhetorical and real, to a better America. Pete Buttigieg is the best candidate for president.