Buttigieg And Biden Candidacies Hit A Snag

The presidential candidacies of Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg have hit a bump in the road of late — and just in time for their prime-time presidential debate debuts on Wednesday.

Politics
As an elder statesman within the Democratic Party, former Vice-President Biden is being called out of sync with today’s political landscape, while the Democratic rookie and mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, is being called out of touch for his dealings with African-Americans.

Let’s take a closer look.

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JOE BIDEN

As 2nd in line to the presidency under former President Barack Obama, Joe Biden entered the Democratic contest as the instant frontrunner.  However, Biden continues to prove time and time again that he’s the last to know just how much politics have evolved.

For example, Joe had to be convinced within the first hours of his candidacy that the days of being “touchy-feely” with constituents are of an era gone by and are no longer considered personable but pervy.  Now, Biden finds himself in yet another self-inflicted predicament.

During a recent fundraiser in New York, Biden recalled a time in the US Senate during the 1970s when he worked hand in hand with southern Democrats who opposed civil rights and desegregation.  Joe specifically named Mississippi Sen. James Eastland and Georgia Sen. Herman Talmadge (whom he referred to as “one of the meanest guys I ever knew.”).

“I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. He never called me ‘boy,’ he always called me ‘son,’ ” the clueless Biden told a crowd of shocked donors.

“Well guess what? At least there was some civility. We got things done,” Biden added. “We didn’t agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished.”

Because Biden comes from an era and a mindset where politicians always put America first and politics second, he’s still under the assumption that liberals and conservatives can come together in a room, hold hands, sing a chorus of “Kumbaya,” then do great things for the greater good of the democracy.  For Biden, his intended message was to prove that despite a difference in beliefs, Americans can still put aside their disagreements and work together.  However, what the out of sync Biden failed to recognize is that his remarks placed 2 white racial segregationists on a pedestal.  His words suggested that the 2 racist senators were somehow good people for never calling him — a white man — the black stereotypical term “boy.”

The worst part of all is that Joe Biden was the last to know he had actually said/done something wrong.

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PETE BUTTIGIEG

To put it in the words of Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, “Mayor Pete has a black problem!”

After a white police officer shot and killed an African-American man in South Bend last month, Buttigieg has found himself on the defensive for being out of touch with black residents and for appearing somewhat indifferent to their concerns.

On Sunday, South Bend residents read Buttigieg the riot act during a tense Town Hall meeting that did nothing to advance his presidential aspirations.

African-American residents seized the opportunity to recall a series of racially-charged policing controversies on the mayor’s watch, as well as what they considered to be his complete mishandling of each case.

“The many well-intentioned steps we have taken, locally and across the country, have not succeeded. We have not done enough,” Buttigieg confessed in response to the backlash. “It is clear we need to implement bolder and more aggressive actions moving forward.”

As if that wasn’t enough, the South Bend Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement on Monday claiming Buttigieg “has in no way unified the community” and charged that his “focus on this incident is solely for his political gain and not the health of the city he serves.”

Buttigieg went from local mayor to national figure within the blink of an eye.  Now, he is facing his first real level of national scrutiny and his first real test to see if he has what it takes to become leader of the free world.

“I know Pete as a compassionate man, so he’s going to have to make sure to work extra hard to show that side of him,” Steve Benjamin, the African American mayor of Columbia, SC, said in support. “Crisis creates opportunities.”

However, Karen Finney, who served as a spokeswoman for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, called Buttigieg’s weakness with Democratic voters of color an emerging narrative” for him.

“It highlights something people were already starting to question about him,” Finney said. “All of that raises the stakes for Pete Buttigieg, and how he ultimately handles this.”

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Although Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg appear to be leaps and bounds ahead of their Democratic counterparts in their ability to beat Donald Trump and lead the nation (perhaps even as running mates), are these setbacks insurmountable and a sign of things to come — or merely a blip in the road in their quests for the presidency?

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OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg hit bumpy waters.