Buttigieg was … extremely predictable tonight. Basically everything I said I was looking for going into the debate came true. He spoke Spanish. He effortlessly inserted himself into questions that weren’t directed at him, getting a fair amount of speaking time. He went back to the “mean Pete” mode that seemed to serve him so well in the October debate, attacking both Sanders and his fellow moderates like Bloomberg and Klobuchar. The attacks on Sanders were an effective way to set himself up as the moderate standard bearer, in my opinion, but his multiple scraps with Klobuchar produced a less clear winner; Klobuchar landed a few good hits on Buttigieg there too on his lack of experience. Overall, I think Buttigieg did well insofar as every candidate not named Bloomberg did well. But I don’t think he’ll be the story after tonight.
