Sir, – Since early April and after I had read his memoir, Shortest Way Home, I predicted Pete Buttigieg would not only be the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party but that he would also be the 46th president of the United States.
Suzanne Lynch's thoughtful and eloquent article (World News, October 29th), fewer than 100 days out from the Iowa caucus, is further evidence that Mayor Pete is the only candidate who can bring America together and heal a divided nation.
Buttigieg is everything Trump isn’t: young, educated, can speak English, is an army veteran, mid-western, practising Christian, humble yet able to communicate a grasp of policy detail and nuance that the current White House occupant can only dream of. He also shows that he can mix it up too and take on his rivals as he did with Elizabeth Warren at the last debate in Ohio when he questioned her forcibly but respectfully on how she is going to pay for her signature plan, Medicare for All.
There is a long road yet to the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin next July, but if Buttigieg can continue his momentum as a centrist candidate and retain his natural sense of compassion and empathy while reaching out to moderate Republicans, as he has done on Fox News, then this left-handed contender may be the surprise pick of 2020. Plus, he doesn’t play golf! – Yours, etc,
TOM McELLIGOTT,
Listowel, Co Kerry.