Francis Wilkinson, Columnist

Is Pete Buttigieg Too Early or Too Late?

The South Bend mayor channels another political phenom critics called inexperienced.

February 5, 2020 at 4:37 PM UTC

Francis Wilkinson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering US politics and policy. Previously, he was executive editor for the Week and a writer for Rolling Stone.

Greetings from Concord.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America

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I’m no good at counting, so I asked Carol Bagan, the house manager at the city auditorium in Concord, New Hampshire, how many people had just heard South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg give a speech. “Six hundred and fifty to 700 souls,” she said. “At least 650.”

“How do you know they all have souls?” I asked.