Pete Buttigieg is a political entrepreneur, and a successful one at that. Whatever your politics, a figure who emerges from the obscurity typically reserved for the mayor of America’s 316th-largest city to run for president, earning a cabinet post as a consolation prize, commands a grudging admiration. Buttigieg owes his success to his skill as a communicator, but only in part. The other skill that has served him well is his reptilian ability to shed his political persona whenever it becomes inconvenient. He metamorphoses to suit his environment — an evolutionary adaptation that has helped him survive with the changing political conditions. And Buttigieg isn’t done yet.
Buttigieg announced last month that he would not run for the open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, the former transportation secretary’s adopted home state, leaving the door open for another presidential bid in 2028. In the effort to lay the groundwork for that aspiration, Buttigieg has jumped on the “abundance” bandwagon.
Comments