I don't understand why Buttigieg isn't the centrist replacement for Biden instead of Bloomberg.

[kurtcagle]

67. Bloomburg, Biden and Buttigeig

Bloomberg entered the race after he saw that Biden was not yet hitting on all cylinders, and while I think Biden is a more visibly compassionate person, I also think Bloomberg may very well end up bringing in a fair number of the 4th Industrial Age 1 %ers and the Silicon Valleys, Forests and similar corridors on both sides of the political divide (think Gates, Buffett, etc.). He also scares the pants off of Trump.

As my wife put it, Trump would eat Buttigeig for a snack, and while I think most Democrats generally agree with Sanders' platform, the Socialism label will doom him outside of the caucuses, especially having lost to Buttigeig in Iowa. Sanders will take New Hampshire, but he really needed Iowa in a way that Biden and Bloomberg didn't. I'm also not going to count Warren out in New Hampshire, but Bloomberg could very well end up being the true stealth candidate here.

Buttigeig being gay is not a problem with most of the people at DU, but it is a showstopper for evangelists who may be wavering in their support for Trump, especially among older voters. I'd also agree that Bloomberg's experience as mayor of New York City weighs far more heavily in many people's minds than Buttigeig's political experience. Where Biden has the edge is in foreign policy, but the difference between Biden and Bloomberg there is a lot smaller than you might think at first blush given that New York is large enough and diverse enough to make major waves in International waters.