Colwell: Pete Buttigieg front and center in Biden's Cabinet

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg gets more national attention than any other Cabinet member.

Q. Is that good for the former South Bend mayor? Or bad, considering he’s so often on the news talking about transportation problems with everything from planes and trains to the global supply chain?

A. Good. Think back to speculation that Buttigieg would sink into relative national obscurity in what was viewed as a back-burner post in the Cabinet.

Q. But isn’t something like stranded Southwest Airlines passengers in Christmas travel harmful to Buttigieg’s image as transportation secretary?

A. The way Fox News and the Bernie Sanders people portray it, yes. But anyone looking at facts rather than just at a chance to slam Buttigieg won’t hold the transportation secretary responsible for the pre-Christmas blizzard and Southwest management failing to upgrade outdated computer technology. Buttigieg quickly and frequently stressed that the airline would be required to compensate stranded passengers, threatened fines and harshly criticized airline executives.

Q. Yeah, but hasn’t his reputation been tarnished as Fox continues to bring up problems like, say, the 2021 supply chain disruption?

A. In a recent Fox interview, he noted how Fox and some other media outlets predicted in 2021 that “Christmas was going to be canceled” because of all the goods so stalled. Instead, retailers enjoyed record sales and Christmas came after all. His response to that and other criticisms went viral. The interviewer was befuddled. Viewers were impressed.

Q. Still, why does he keep going on Fox when he knows he’ll face hostile questions?

A. Because he usually comes out ahead with his cool, concise and factual responses. Most Democrats fear going on Fox more than going for a root canal. Buttigieg, going back to his spectacular presidential campaign, has come out ahead with the appearances. A Fox News town hall got his campaign zooming before the Iowa caucuses.

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Q. Would Buttigieg stand a chance of winning the nomination — if Biden doesn’t run?

A. All the attention to Buttigieg in handling transportation problems and handing out billions for long-needed infrastructure projects has boosted his stock as a possible 2024 Democratic presidential nominee — if Biden doesn’t seek reelection. A recent ranking of prospects in The Hill placed Buttigieg right after Vice President Kamala Harris as a possible nominee.

Q. Would Harris be a heavy favorite — if Biden doesn’t run?

A. The Hill notes that Democratic strategists worry that she hasn’t built a strong platform as vice president, while Buttigieg has “a solid two years” with all the announcements of projects financed through bipartisan passage of the infrastructure bill. Listed third, after Harris and Buttigieg, was Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who had “one of the best election nights of anyone in the midterms.”

Q. Any other rating of prospects?

A. Yes. An earlier Washington Post survey placed Buttigieg ahead of Harris, Buttigieg as the top prospect — if Biden doesn’t run.

Q. Will Biden run?

A. His announcement of candidacy is expected soon, though possibly delayed by blunders over classified documents, something that diminishes effectiveness of the issue of Donald Trump’s more egregious handling of secret documents. If Biden runs, he will again be the nominee. Biden likely was the only Democrat who could have beaten Trump in the close 2020 race. That could again be the situation.

Q. If Biden for some reason doesn’t run, would Buttigieg have a chance to win the presidency?

A. A chance? Sure. But not necessarily a good chance. The odds are long for any contender other than an incumbent president to take the two giant steps of nomination and victory in the fall. But Buttigieg has been boosted, not diminished as a prospect, for now or for farther in the future, by being in the spotlight in a Cabinet post he has taken off the back burner.

Jack Colwell is a columnist for The Tribune. Write to him in care of The Tribune or by email at jcolwell@comcast.net.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend's Pete Buttigieg draws attention as transportation secretary