AUSTIN — Once upon a time the goal in a presidential debate wasn’t to win on points but to project gravitas, and persuade viewers that you were “presidential,” whatever that might mean.

In the Las Vegas debate Wednesday night, only Pete Buttigieg went off that playbook.

He maintained poise at all times. He remained unflappable with nary a tone of exasperation creeping into his voice, something that could not be said of his five rivals -- most notably Michael Bloomberg, a novice at this level.

You couldn’t hear Buttigieg yammering for attention or butting in, nor see him waving his hand demanding rebuttal.

Gravitas.

Contrast that with Bloomberg, the 12th wealthiest American. He created and led a media conglomerate and was mayor of the nation’s biggest city, a metropolis of 8.5 million. But he skipped the first year of the campaign, jumping in just 10 weeks ago. The pent-up animosity was merciless.

“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians," Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. “And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg."

Bloomberg acted wounded, stammering when challenged. He never lost his train of thought. But he was hardly in control.

That’s no mortal sin.

But given the way Bloomberg has saturated the nation’s airwaves with TV ads, a debate spun out of his control undermined the image he’s spent tens of millions presenting.

Buttigieg’s poise also stood out against Sen. Amy Klobuchar. His needling clearly annoyed her, as when he shrugged off her contrast between her Senate experience and his service as mayor of South Bend, Ind., the nation’s 308th biggest city.

"If winning a race for Senate in Minnesota translated directly to becoming president, I would have grown up under the presidency of Walter Mondale," he shot back.

Buttigieg clearly did his homework. He hadn’t even hit his third birthday when Mondale lost to President Ronald Reagan.

Presidential.