Ser Reptitious

Does that also apply to Trump supporters? Because I never seem to see any articles from that side of the aisle exhorting them to listen and cultivate emphy towards Liberals/Democrats. It should go both ways, no?

...because they best embody what a ‘reluctant remainer’ is looking for?

As you said to DMC in a previous post, a lot of this is subjective. I am much more liberal/progressive than moderate, so I get where you are coming from. But personally I have been quite impressed with what I have seen of Mayor Pete and think he has great potential. But again, that is entirely subjective, and he definitely needs to deal with the issues you pointed out. He might make a good VP pick, though, come to think of it. Would give him a chance to become a bit more seasoned before taking another stab at the presidency, all the while staying in the public's eye. That's actually exactly what I was trying to convey, but I guess it didn't come across that way. So in short, what you said! Is anyone really surprised that he wants his puppet master back in the club? Let's just be glad he isn't pushing for North Korea (yet).

In terms of the pluses, his supreme court plan stands out, though. In terms of saving the U.S. democracy that is exactly the kind of 'tweak' that the system badly needs!

Obama was far too naive for far too long regarding Republican obstructionism. That was his biggest failing. Yet despite that, his presidency seems to be remember fondly by many (most?) Democrats, hence Biden trying to cash in on that sentiment. As @DMC pointed out, being inspirational doesn't necessarily require a specific set of policies. Buttigieg could be inspirational and moderate (as far as the Democratic spectrum goes) at the same time and probably excite young people in a similar vein as Obama. Thanks for the info. Buttigieg definitely needs to work on that, if he hopes to assemble an Obama-type coalition.

I'm actually wondering about the exact same things, so thanks for putting these questions out there. You are not alone!

Here's another thing to consider beyond even that: let's assume that Biden wins the primary and manages to defeat Trump. Then what? My prediction is that his presidency will be so uninspiring that the Republicans will come roaring back in the 2022 midterms (due to complete lack of enthusiam among the Democrat base), probably taking back the House and the Senate, making Biden in essence a lame duck (as in, can't get anything done at all) even before his first term expires. Then in 2024 a more polished Republican version of Trump comes along and defeats Biden. Or, "best" case scenario Biden manages to hang on because the economy is doing well enough at the time, and we have four more years of gridlock, after which the voters more than likely will crave "change", any change. And change would mean switching the party in charge of the presidency. All the while the planet burns...

Don't Americans overall loooooove their military and the people in it? If so, that should be an asset for Pete. I agree that he needs to work on winning over African-Americans, but at the same time I am completely baffled how Biden seems to get a pass from said community about him crowing over how well he worked with segregationists back in the day (and then doubled down on it). Well yeah, I certainly would hope, too, that nobody would vote for someone just because they tick a box. The overall package (policies, ideology, personality, etc.) should be what really counts. I was just mentioning it in passing because there is a sentiment among (some) Democrat voters that after every single president other than Obama having been a (usually older) straight white male, bringing a bit of diversity in would be a good thing (all other things being equal). Hmmm, that seems like an oversimplification to me (and I am very much a progressive). As far as I can tell, Buttigieg's political views seems along the lines of Obama, and young people certainly flocked to him. But yeah, I can see why someone drawn to Warren and Sanders might be lukewarm at best towards Buttigieg. But my thinking is more that if Biden (hopefully) and Harris lose steam then he should be able to pick up those voters. But I also feel that Buttigieg's 'moderatism' gets overstated. He strikes me as one of the few candidates that calls for fundamental structural change to make the U.S. democracy actually more democratic (i.e. reflective of the majority again). That seems a long way off Biden's "everything will be fine as long as we get rid of Trump" approach.

I don't understand why Buttigieg is not getting more love. He seems closest out of all the current candidates in terms of channeling Obama. He is quite moderate in terms of his politics, but he is young, passionate, well-spoken, and inspiring, and he ticks off one of the minority boxes due to being gay (for those who feel passionate about not just having yet another old straight white guy in the White House). Just like Obama, I think he could inspire the left-wing of the party simply because of who he is without alienating the more moderate wing due to his politics. And the contrast with Trump would be obvious in all the right ways!

I, for one, am not particularly interested in getting into what British culture is or isn't, but you have never yet answered how exactly Eastern Europeans pose a threat to said culture. Could you finally address that?

True, but the Saudis are Trump's buddies, whereas he is in the midst of a trade war with China right now.

Thanks for your clarification. I agree that the (very) late 80s/early 90s were a great time, due to the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the ensuing optimism around the world. But you're kind of all over the map here (as well as in subsequent posts). I suspect that you're limiting the "almost utopia" of that era to the "west" because that is where living standards were highest (not sure if Japan and South Korea count in your mind or not)? But you yourself keep talking about culture being a "snapshot in time", so once we start looking at how the "west" managed to accumulate that wealth through colonization/enslavement of large chunks of the rest of the world, does it still look so utopian? And I'm not really sure where you are going with the "corporate law" train of thought in terms of culture, considering that laissez-faire capitalism (and the accompanying corporatism) seems to play a notable part in the U.S.'s culture. If western culture needs to be protected in its current state, isn't that part of it?* (*to be clear, I don't thinks so at all, but your thesis of protecting current western culture seems to logically lead that way!)

Ok, I'm genuinely curious. When exactly was that almost Utopian moment? And what made it so?

I think this sums it up quite well:

If you are aware of any biases you may have (had) then it is no longer subconscious. Subconscious racism is the type where you have prejudices that you simply consider to be "realistic", whereas people who call that sort of thing racist are simply denying reality for the sake of being "politically correct". Sound familiar?* And I agree with @James Arryn that accusing everyone of being subconsciously racist is an easy way out for actual (subconscious and otherwise) racists by implying that they are simply saying out loud what everyone else is thinking. The notion that only a small minority of the population thinks/feels like they do would be a very uncomfortable thing for them. *I'm not saying that's your view, I'm simply saying that we've all heard that kind of talk before.