washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/02/buttigieg-goes-out-with-style-grace-bright-future/?outputType=amp
Former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg won himself a place in the history books as the first openly gay American to make a high-profile presidential run and the first to win a state contest. He did this at just 38 years of age, with a short military career and a stint as mayor of a modest-size Midwest city. A year ago, he was unknown outside his hometown; it was an uphill effort simply to get people to pronounce his name.
Introduced by his husband who choked back tears, Buttigieg delivered a farewellspeech Sunday night every bit as elegant and uplifting as the campaign he was drawing to a close. Interrupted by chants of “2024,” Buttigieg traced his improbable journey, lauded his staff and volunteers and made clear that he took his campaign “rules of the road” seriously. Those included truth (that his pathway had closed) and responsibility (to ensure the effect of his running was in service of his goal to unify the country).
He did not mention Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) by name, but listening between the lines, you knew that Buttigieg feared becoming a hindrance to Sanders’s more viable opponents. He was crystal clear: His goal had been to unify a divided nation and win up and down the ticket. That, he determined, was now served by leaving the race.
