Takeaways from Pete Buttigieg's performance at the November Democratic debate

Chris Sikich | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption AP Analysis: Democratic debate in Atlanta Democrats debated in Atlanta on Wednesday night, with the top issues including health care and who can defeat Donald Trump in 2020. (Nov. 21)

Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg fended off attacks from several rival candidates while also defending his record on race during Wednesday's Democratic debate.

It's too soon to say whether he scored a second breakout performance. But Buttigieg, who is leading in polls in both New Hampshire and Iowa, didn't appear to have any missteps. Moving forward, he still has to find a way to make up ground in South Carolina, where he is struggling to connect with African American voters, but Wednesday was a start.

Here are the takeaways:

Buttigieg appeals to voters of color

The question Buttigieg had to expect came late in the debate. In South Carolina, he is navigating troubling accusations that his campaign grossly overstated black support for his sweeping platform for African Americans.

The question, though, was directed at Sen. Kamala Harris of California. She had criticized him earlier in the week, especially for the use of a stock photo from Kenya. The moderators asked her about that criticism, essentially giving her a chance to target Buttigieg.

Harris, though, declined to dig into the mayor.

"I think that it really speaks to a larger issue," she said, "and I'll speak to a larger issue. I believe the mayor has apologized for that."

Pundits sound off: What they said about Buttigieg's performance

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She said Democratic candidates only show up to black communities when it's election time.

"The larger issue is that for too long I think candidates have taken for granted constituencies that have been the backbone of the Democratic party."

Her decision allowed Buttigieg to reach out to voters of color without having to confront one of only two black candidates on the stage.

He said he completely agrees with her and he welcomes the opportunity of connecting to black voters.

"As mayor of a city that is racially diverse and largely low-income," he said, "for eight years I have lived and breathed the successes and struggles of a community where far too many people live with the consequences of racial inequity that has built up over centuries.

"While I do not have the experience of ever having been discriminated against because of the color of my skin, I do have the experience of sometimes feeling like a stranger in my own country — turning on the news and seeing my own rights come up for debate."

He was careful not to overly compare being openly gay with horrific racial injustices suffered by African Americans for centuries. But he still made his point that he understands what it's like to face discrimination.

"Two elections ago I wouldn’t be on this stage wearing this wedding ring," he said. "I haven’t been judged on my skin color, and I’ll never know what that’s like. However, I do know what it’s like to be discriminated against when my rights have been put up for debate.”

Booker did take a passing shot at Buttigieg

You might not have noticed, the moment passed so quickly.

“Nobody on this stage should need a focus group to hear from African-American voters," he said after Buttigieg's answer on race.

"I have a lot of experience with black voters," Booker said. "I've been one since I was 18."

And then he turned to a soon-to-be stunned looking Joe Biden.

"This week I hear him literally say that I don’t think we should legalize marijuana," Booker said of Biden. "I thought you might have been high when you said it."

Booker said his point was that prosecutors seem to target African Americans who smoke marijuana, but it appears to be legal for privileged people.

Biden, Sanders and Warren never took on Buttigieg

Not on health care. Not on experience. On nothing.

Buttigieg did hit Warren on Medicare for All. He was asked, essentially, how he would navigate opposition from Republicans, and he turned the question around.

Buttigieg said he believes a majority of Americans are ready to tackle big issues.

“Even on issues where Democrats have been on defense like immigration and guns,” he said, “we have a majority who want to do the right thing if we can galvanize and not polarize that majority.”

That's when he pivoted to criticize Medicare for All, pitching his own plan of allowing Americans to buy into Medicare or to keep their private insurance.

Democratic debate: Quips from candidates and other top moments

“I believe that commanding people to accept that option, whether in three years like Sen. Warren has proposed or whether we do it right out of the gate, is not the right approach.”

Warren looked like she wanted to respond, but the moderators moved on. The same thing happened later in the debate when Buttigieg indicated he would be open to cutting military funding.

Buttigieg got into it with Klobuchar and Gabbard

The front-runners ignored the mayor of South Bend, but Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii went after him.

Not right away though. In fact, through two hours it looked like the mayor was going to escape unscathed. Harris passed on taking a shot earlier on. Klobuchar did, too.

The moderators asked her about a comment she made suggesting Buttigieg's rise, despite his inexperience, shows how much harder women have it.

Klobuchar didn't bite.

"First of all, I have made very clear that I think Pete is qualified to be on this stage," she said, "and I am honored to be standing here next to him."

But she said women are held to a higher standard. As proof, she pointed out no woman has ever been president or vice president.

"We have to work harder," she said, "and that's a fact."

She took a different tactic in the closing minutes of the debate.

Buttigieg was answering a seemingly simple question about his support for voting rights, mentioning legislation he liked in Congress.

Klobuchar broke in to indicate that, with all due respect to the mayor, this was an example of what she was talking about when she said women had to work harder. She said she has experience actually voting on and passing those bills. And she said experience matters.

"He said the right words," she said, "but I have the experience."

Buttigieg had a quick answer — and one that might show the hesitancy others have shown in tangling with him.

"Washington experience is not the only experience that matters," he said. "There is over 100 years of Washington experience on this stage, and where are we right now as a country? I have the experience of bringing people together to get something done."

Klobuchar didn't press further.

Moments later, though, Gabbard went after him, accusing him of saying he would send U.S. troops to Mexico to fight drug cartels.

Buttigieg had an answer for her, too.

"I know that it's par for the course in Washington to take remarks out of context, but that is outlandish even by today's standards," he said.

Buttigieg said the United States and Mexico have been cooperating for years to fight drug cartels.

"Do you seriously think anyone on this stage is talking about invading Mexico?" he asked.

He then criticized her for meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, whom he called a murderous dictator.

It's an accusation Gabbard has been defending for some time. For her part, she said meeting with murderous dictators is part of the job of a president.

Buttigieg defended his lack of experience

The moderators asked Buttigieg why he is qualified to be president when he has only gathered 11,000 votes in a run for mayor and lost his only statewide race by a large margin.

Buttigieg remained poised, saying he has the right experience to go toe to toe with President Trump.

"I get that it's not traditional Washington experience," he said, "But I would argue we need something very different right now."

He had some good lines in the answer.

"I know that what goes on in my city might look small," he said, "but frankly where we live, the infighting on Capitol Hill is what looks small."

He even pivoted to Trump. Buttigieg said the president won by carrying much of the Midwest and indicated a Midwesterner might be able to change that in 2020.

"I don't talk a big game about helping the working class while helicoptering between golf courses with my name of them," Buttigieg said. "I don't even golf."

He continued by appealing to the everyman.

"I am literally the least wealthy person on this stage," Buttigieg said. "I never thought I’d be on a Forbes magazine list, until this year when they ranked presidential candidates by wealth. I came in dead last."

And then he reminded everyone he's a veteran.

“I also wore the uniform of this country and know what’s at stake in decisions made in the Oval Office and Situation Room”

Buttigieg gets into farming question

Buttigieg just about lit up when asked about subsidies the government is paying to farmers as the trade war with China continues.

This question was in his Midwestern wheelhouse.

"We shouldn't have to pay farmers to take the edge off a trade war that shouldn't have started in the first place," he said.

He said the subsidies are not even making farmers whole, pointing in particular to those who plant soybeans and those who deal in ethanol. He said many rural Americans he talks to are worried things are not going to turn around under Trump.

"I don’t think this president cares one bit about farmers," Buttigieg said. "He keeps asking them to take one for the team, but more and more, I'm talking to people in rural America who see that they're not going to benefit from business as usual under this president."

Buttigieg went on to say that monopolies and consolidation are killing farmers, saying there are fewer places that sell supplies and fewer places to buy their crops.

He also pivoted to climate change, saying many rural Americans are ready for things like soil conservation.

He went after Trump, but not how it was teed up for him

Buttigieg was asked what he thinks about Trump and impeachment.

Buttigieg said he thinks Trump should be held accountable for abuse of power, but he also said he thinks any other president would have resigned by now over a situation garnering less attention.

The mayor referenced a court case in which a judge ordered Trump to pay $2 million to various nonprofit groups to settle allegations that he and his family used Trump's charitable foundation to further his political and business interests. The case was a civil matter, not criminal.

"Under normal circumstances a president would leave office after something that was revealed recently that barely got any attention at all, which was the president had to confess in writing, in court, to illegally diverting charitable contributions that were supposed to go to veterans."

Buttigieg said the next president will have to unify the country and tackle issues such as health care, the economy and school shootings.

"We are going to have to unify a nation that will be as divided as ever," Buttigieg said, "and while doing it address big issues that didn't take a vacation for the impeachment process or for the Trump presidency as a whole."

He later went after Trump on military spending, delivering a memorable line.

Buttigieg said he would spend more in artificial intelligence, saying the United States is being outspent by rivals.

"We do not have a 21st century strategy coming from this president," he said. "After all, he's relying on 17th century security technologies like a moat full of alligators or a big wall."

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Call IndyStar reporter Chris Sikich at 317-444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisSikich.