cindy

Hello Everyone, In my last Post, I said I would “wait for [Pete’s] lead in deciding who to support now.” Shortly thereafter, Pete endorsed Joe Biden. So, I’m all in for Joe now. I am for Joe because he shares Pete’s values and many of his qualities – humanity, integrity, temperament, and decency. Qualities we desperately need at this fragile moment. I fully recognize that he doesn’t have Pete’s eloquence and will make innumerable “gaffes”, but I can live with that. In fact, some of his past gaffes have been of historic importance – in the most positive sense. The one [...]

PetePost #9: Goodbye, Pete – For Now Hello Everyone, Last night’s announcement came as a surprise to me, as I’m sure it was to most of you. While sad, I trust Pete’s judgement, believing that this was the right thing to do, at the right time. I will wait for his lead in deciding who to support now. I want to thank you for reading my commentaries and, to many, for supporting Pete in various ways. I assure you that these will prove to be worthwhile long-term investments. Pete’s speech announcing the decision last night was as substantive and eloquent as [...]

Hello Everyone, So far, only 3 of the 57 constituencies (50 states, DC, 5 territories, and Democrats Abroad) have held nominating contests. Bernie Sanders has been breathlessly declared the “front-runner,” despite having won only 45 of the 2,268 Pledged Delegates that he would have to win to secure the nomination outright. That is a mere 2% of what is needed. That compares to Pete Buttigieg’s total of 25 Pledged Delegates, or 1.1% of the total needed. It seems awfully premature to declare that Bernie has the nomination in his grasp. Remember, it’s all about delegates, not about “states won” or any [...]

Hello Everyone, In my last Post, I wrote that it might be good that the press has anointed Bernie Sanders the “front-runner” for reasons relating to Michael Bloomberg. And, I said I might explain. Well, now I’ll try. This morning, an NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist national poll hit the news, indicating that Sanders is in the lead, with Bloomberg and Biden in second and third places, respectively (remember, however, how unreliable polling can be – think about Biden’s big lead for months on end in this cycle and Hillary’s lead in late October 2016.) I have been expecting Bernie to take the lead [...]

Hello Everyone, Well, it happened again. This time, Pete and Bernie tied in New Hampshire, but Bernie and the press claim that he won. Each got 9 delegates. Just like in 2008, when Hillary and the press claimed she won New Hampshire, when she and Barack actually tied – each got 9 delegates. I warned about this in my last PetePost (#5).    https://peteposts.com/petepost-5-at-the-head-of-the-pack/ Admittedly by the slimmest of margins, Pete is actually the “front runner” – because he leads in cumulative delegates, 22 to 21. Pete got 13 of Iowa’s delegates, one more than Bernie did, with one originally awarded [...]

Hello Everyone, My wife, Penny Sebring, and I returned from Iowa late Tuesday, thrilled that Pete Buttigieg had established his position at the head of the pack of candidates that once totaled twenty-five or more. This trip was a reprise of a similarly exciting one we embarked upon on New Year’s Day in 2008. On January 4, Penny was driving us home to Evanston, IL, from Grinnell, IA, and I was actually writing my 11th Obamagram in the car about Barack’s equally unexpected victory. Penny is a Grinnell College alumna and was a long-time trustee, and it is one of my [...]

Hello Everyone, As I said in my last commentary, when I was writing Obamagrams, I regularly urged everyone to not only listen to speeches Obama gave, but to read those speeches as well. Similarly, for those of you who haven’t done so already, I urge you to listen to at least some portions of some of Pete Buttigieg’s talks, and then read those portions, too. In this Post, I am suggesting doing just that with the foreign policy speech he delivered in June. It is particularly relevant in light of recent events. Please click on the image below to view [...]

Hello Everyone, When I was writing Obamagrams, I regularly urged everyone to not only listen to speeches Obama gave, but to read those speeches as well. The combination of the two gave you a much deeper understanding of Barack’s thinking than you could get from either in isolation. Similarly, for those of you who haven’t done so already, I urge you to listen to at least some portion of some of Pete Buttigieg’s talks, and then read those portions, too. In this Post and my next one, I will suggest doing just that, first with his speech announcing his candidacy in [...]

Hello Everyone, When I explain what I do, I say that awhile back I stopped “working for pay” (as a Merrill Lynch investment banker) and started “paying to work” (as head of our family foundation).  But, both worlds have one thing in common – the need to do “due diligence” – before entering into a relationship.  As an investment banker, that means investigating a company’s financial condition and prospects, among other things.  As a foundation, we do the same things when we consider making a gift to a not-for-profit organization. I also do due diligence when I support a candidate, and [...]