I’m thrilled to see that Mayor Pete Buttigieg has surged ahead to take the lead by nearly 15 points, according to the latest Iowa polls. Ask almost any Iowa Democrat, and they’ll tell you: Buttigieg is smart. He speaks multiple languages, attended Harvard and plays the piano. As such, he is a more well-rounded individual than you are likely to find anywhere.

To his credit he was bestowed a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford. As few as 32 American Rhodes Scholars are selected each year.

Also, as a U.S. Naval Reserve intelligence officer, he was involved with high command in the war with Afghanistan, and, of course, from 2010 up to the present, he has had administrative experience as the mayor of South Bend, Ind.

As if to be a wordsmith, Buttigieg chooses his words carefully. In fact, he speaks with such elocution that I felt drawn to him the very first time I saw him on TV. Speaking about his intentions to run for president, he was like a breath of fresh air. He is thoughtful and has razor-sharp sincerity.

Now that we are well into the 21st century, it seems unlikely that his sexual orientation will hurt his electability in a meaningful way. First, we had the first black American president with Barack Obama; perhaps now the time is ripe for the first gay American president to sit in the Oval Office. Absolutely anything is better than that office’s present occupant.

TIMOTHY LANGLAIS

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