Distinguished poll of the week: Surging at the right time

What happened next goes a long way toward explaining Buttigieg’s appeal. In a follow-up column, Harriot recounted that to his amazement Buttigieg called him personally:

Pete Buttigieg didn’t want to tell me his side of the story. He didn’t excuse himself by explaining that the comments referenced by the article were made years ago. He didn’t even try to explain his plan for black America.

“I think the context was important, especially the fact that it was before I took office,” Buttigieg said.

But mostly, he just wanted to listen.

Harriot’s column was not laudatory, but it did earn Buttigieg some grudging respect from the author. “The only thing I actually know about Pete Buttigieg is that he is a white man,” Harriot concluded. “But Pete Buttigieg listened, which is all you can ask a white man to do.”