To the editor:

I would like to encourage Democrat caucus attendees to support Pete Buttigieg. I know there is no shortage of candidates too old for such a demanding job. President Eisenhower stated that he should never have run for his second term at 66 as he said the job was too strenuous for his age.

Pete graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and finished “First” at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Historians have generally recognized some of our greatest presidents as “geniuses:” Lincoln, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt. He volunteered for military service after campaigning for Obama in 2008 and encountering younger Iowans who chose to serve much earlier than he did. As a Vietnam veteran, I believe his first-hand experience in a combat zone better prepares him for the ultimate presidential responsibility as commander-in-chief.

Anyone listening to the various speeches of the candidates would judge him the most mature of the group. He is civil and does not practice the politics of demeaning opponents; he appeals to our better natures and his policies are practical as well as aspirational. His loyal constituents from South Bend and the citizens of Indiana know of his ability to garner support across the spectrum as he achieved many of his initiatives while mayor of his beloved South Bend.

Democrats: look to the future of a possible two-term president and a person seasoned in administrative duties and known for his common sense.

Several polls show him leading the other Democrats one-on-one with Trump in early states where he is known. Pete is the party’s best bet to dethrone our academically challenged president.

Ken Seversen

Fort Dodge