opinion

Sage Rosenfels: Mayor Pete Buttigieg delivers thoughtful answers to lead, heal

I grew up on 10 acres outside of Andrew, a town of around 300 people in eastern Iowa. I graduated from high school in Maquoketa, population 6,000, before moving on to Iowa State University to play football and get my business degree.

The life lessons I learned from the experiences during those first 22 years still influence me today. My parents have been monumental in shaping my core values and beliefs, but the dozens of teachers and coaches from along my journey have also had a big impact on me. Those values help guide my decisions as a parent, a businessman, a neighbor, and as a voter.

Nearly two decades after leaving Iowa to begin my NFL journey, I have an 18-year-old son who is voting in his first election. For children born in this millennium, 2020 is their first chance to vote in a national election. As somebody who was raised to pay attention to national and local politics, I have tried to make time for those conversations with my son. I don’t tell him who to vote for, but I like to hear his perspective on the candidates. If anything, it’s nice to hear what teenagers know, hear about, and want in their political leaders.

My son’s favorite candidate is Pete Buttigieg. He likes that he is smart, a veteran, is inclusive, and speaks in a tone that is needed in American politics today more than ever. When Pete spoke in Council Bluffs a few months ago, Peyton went to see him speak live. I tagged along as well and what I saw was something different than other “rallies” I’ve been to over the years. It was less “pep rally” and more of a conversation between Pete and the attendees about American values, leadership, the military, America’s role in the world, and of course Trump.

I have watched many of the Democratic debates, and a few candidates really stuck out. I liked Cory Booker because he is a uniter who is a voice for the marginalized. I also like the messages coming from Andrew Yang. We need to look at what’s best for our economy in the decades to come, rather than just the next quarter.

This brings me to Buttigieg. Many Americans from both parties are tired of career politicians, yet both parties continue to elect them because of their experience, influence, and political power. More than ever, voters are looking for candidates who have succeeded in ventures outside of the Beltway. Americans also tend to trust local government more than federal politicians because local decisions are made with direct knowledge of local issues. Pete, a Rhodes Scholar who graduated with degrees from Harvard and Oxford, as well as a military veteran who served in war zones in Afghanistan, brings a D.C. outsider voice to this election. Nobody knows you like those closest to you, and Buttegieg won his most recent election with 80% of the vote.

I believe if Buttigieg were to win the Democratic nomination, he would beat Trump in the general election. One candidate, who has become a master of divisiveness and misinformation, while the other brings thoughtful answers to serious questions.

The intensity of football forces coaches to make tough decisions in times of great pressure and anxiety. Pete’s overall temperament during the debates, as well as his military service in Afghanistan, have proved to me that he would be strategic and level headed when leading our nation.

I don’t know if Mayor Pete will win the Democratic nomination. He is up against candidates with decades of political experience, and two billionaires with unlimited advertising funds. Obviously, Pete has had his work cut out for him from the start.

Whether Pete Buttigieg ends up winning the Iowa caucuses, the Democratic nomination, or the 2020 presidential election, is not the sole reason I am endorsing him. I honestly feel that he would make a great president for all Americans, not just those who voted for him. I hope that endorsing and voting for Pete helps keep his voice and temperament in American politics for decades to come. America is divided more now than any time in my life, and Pete has the ability to help heal that divide while making pragmatic decisions to help solve the plethora of issues that Americans face today and in the decades to come.

Sage Rosenfels is a former Iowa State and NFL quarterback.