Did you watch the Democratic debates?  We watched the first hour, and then it was past our bedtime, so we didn’t make it all the way to the end.  It was interesting to listen to all the candidates who , before the debates, had merely been cardboard figures depicted by the media.  You have to be pretty sharp to get as far as they all did, but the most amazing candidate of all was Pete Buttigieg, the Mayor of South Bend.   If anyone figured this hick from Indiana was going to make a fool of himself, they were sadly disappointed.  As Hoosiers, Mayor Pete made us proud.

My husband and I do not agree with every thing Pete believes in.  As an example, we think there was a good reason our founding fathers established the electoral college.  Should big city apartment dwellers and intellectuals from coastal cities throw Midwestern values under the bus?  I won’t elaborate on that because it would take more space than a blog allows to say why we’re opposed to the popular vote.

But here’s the thing about Mayor Pete.  If I were in a position to tell him face to face why I disagree with him, I know he would listen.  He wouldn’t call me names, or put me down.  Why?  Because he’s a gentleman.  He has class.  And we really, really, need some class coming out of Washington DC.

I suppose  his homosexuality is going to rule him out as a  viable candidate. You might think that as an octogenarian,  his sexual orientation would be problematic for me.  But when I  busted out of a parochial girls school back in the 50’s, I met  a gay guy during my first semester of college.  He was funny, smart and the two of us could spend hours talking about anything and everything.  No one admitted to being gay in those days.  He even had a girlfriend.  But he was the one I could talk to when a boyfriend broke my heart. And so, I’ve had gay friends all of my life.

Mayor Pete went into the debates as an underdog and a lightweight.  But he didn’t falter when questioned.  He stood his ground and showed an intellect that equaled–and maybe surpassed –the other candidates.  If you were expecting  a word slurring hillbilly,  you were in for a surprise.

So here’s to you, Mayor Pete   You made us proud. As  a good old Hoosier redneck might say, “you did good.”