WHAM! POW! Mocking Pete Buttigieg

New Biden ad: 

Silly little pretentious wanna-be Pete. The fool.

Sneering is a way to define placement in the social order.  Joe Biden mocks Buttigieg in a devastating ad.

It is the kind of thing we would expect from the Trump campaign.

First, watch the new ad. Click below. 

It went up yesterday, February 8. It does something much worse than criticize Pete Buttigieg. It defines him as unworthy. Trivial. Pretentious. Silly.

A fool.

CLICK HERE: Silly little Mayor Pete

The ad narrator would appear on the surface to praise both Biden and Buttigieg. "Both Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg have taken on tough fights," and then "Both Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg have helped shape our economy." 

There is none of the ugly black and white photos or scary music we often see in negative ads. Everything is nice and sweet, both Biden and Buttigieg doing their jobs.

The ad then gives examples of each, Biden negotiating a nuclear deal, saving the auto industry, revitalizing the Midwest economy. And Buttigieg? Why he decorated his city. Pow!

The ad did not disparage Buttigieg. It compared the two, which made Buttigieg look foolish. This blog has referenced the template of Hero, Knave, Fool in the branding of politicians and their opponents, an observation made by political scientist Sandford Borins. Every campaign wants to define their candidate as a hero solving problems. The simultaneous task is to define the opponent clearly and simply.

Sometimes a knave. ("Crooked Hillary".) Sometimes a fool. ("Little Marco.")

Biden isn't calling Buttigieg a knave. He isn't disagreeing with him. Disagreement embeds a notion of equality and respect because an opponent requiring disagreement has sufficient status to be noticed and countered.

The fool, however, lacks even the status to be disagreed with. One argues with a peer; one simply changes the diaper of a fussy toddler. Praising Buttigieg for decorative lights and bricks demonstrates the indulgence one gives to the incompetent. 

Sandford Borins: Hero, Knave, Fool

Takeaway 1: Competent Biden. This is the single most politically adept thing I have observed in his campaign. Prior to this, his campaign was noteworthy for using training wheels--a teleprompter!--to give routine campaign stump speeches.   

His schedule was comparatively very light, one or two events a day. He doesn't have the energy to campaign? 

His talks were examined and praised for the absence of fatal gaffes. 

Biden's campaign has been graded on a curve, with success defined as doing a minimally satisfactory job.

This is different. If he could do this to Buttigieg, maybe, possibly, he could get out of his death spiral. Bottom line: Biden can arrange a solid punch.

Takeaway 2: Preview and test for Buttigieg. If Buttigieg is to survive the primary he needs to be able to take this humiliation and turn it. He cannot simply brush it off. This ad defines him as a poseur. It echos what Klobuchar said at the debate, that he isn't ready. At this writing--Sunday--the news is about Buttigieg's rise in the polls, with Klobuchar far, far behind. It may be too late for Klobuchar. If this ad gets traction, then Buttigieg is a time bomb for Democrats.

What can Buttigieg do?  Buttigieg needs to change the frame, not defend his experience. The campaign must be about judgement and temperament. 

Buttigieg communicates in a calm, Obama-like manner, simple common sense maturity and judgement. Trump communicates narcissistic, juvenile vindictiveness. Buttigieg speaks in full sentences in a baritone voice; Trump tweets in caps. Buttigieg looks largely untested, yes, but Trump looks tested and has been proven foolish in his lack of self discipline, his exaggerations, his unpresidential schoolyard bullying, his name calling.  

Buttigieg, for all his youth and inexperience, seems like a more solid, mature man at the helm of a ship in a storm than does Trump.

Buttigieg needs to laugh at the ad and take the energy out of it by agreeing. Say that of course,  bricks in sidewalks aren't as important as saving the auto industry. But judgement is important, and we need a steady hand and mind who gets things right, not an experienced hand with a string of mis-steps. Buttigieg can recognize and praise Biden't age, but note that his experience is to have sabotaged Anita Hill, to have let financial malefactors go unpunished, to have defended banks doing foreclosures, and to have supported the Iraq war. He might praise Biden for his hard work, but say he was lucky to have had Obama in the captain's chair. Say we don't need experience, as much as we need judgement. That would be his case, and if he can make it, then he may be ready to be the nominee.

If he cannot, then Biden's campaign may hold up, Klobuchar may catch up, Bloomberg may step in, or Mayor Pete will continue to be humiliated.

We will see.