Recall, Senator Muskie (who might have been an excellent president) blew his chances when he shed a tear about something or other.

Buttigieg seems, so far, to have gotten a pass on developing a spine and has managed to get over based on his smarts and glib elision.  (Much like Obama was able to portray himself as fighting for civil rights in court without ever going before a jury with any of his cases.)  So far, things have moved aside of their own accord for Buttigieg but, it would appear, delegating mayoral duties while campaigning everywhere else may have run its course.

More importantly for the particular case in Indy, if the police conduct is to be subjected to transparency, will the Mayor direct the police department and individual officers to waive the defense of qualified immunity so in-depth, adversarial discovery can take place?  Recall, the defense of qualified immunity, which has insulated the vast majority of killings by police from civil judicial review, is a defense to suit which is interposed before any discovery takes place.  The result is that when someone sues the police the case is almost always dismissed before the facts can be ascertained in a transparent manner.

Will the police resist disclosing body cam footage and all the rest of the information they have, or will the mayor compel them to release it immediately?

Are the cops involved still on the streets, or have they been moved to flying a desk?

Calming words are easy, cheap and mean little - it's Corporate America's approach to bad customer service - but action has "risks":  he might offend the police.

True, there are questions raised not only for the instant case, but also, for the underlying institutional challenges in South Bend and nationally. It is fair to criticize his actions or inactions since his presidential campaign harkens back to his experiences. But, it seems, to me, to be unfair to prematurely consign him to the invertebrate class. He is not just another pretty face. He is a candidate of substance and a person of character.

For purposes of clarification, Mr. Buttigieg is not my choice in the Democratic primary. As I have written before, I see him as a rising leader in the Democratic Party and may well be considered for a critical cabinet position in a Democratic Administration, such as Secretary of State.

However, I try not to loss sight of the goal, to defeat Trump.  Weaponizing accusations of insensitivity to, and irresoluteness for, American struggles is as deadly a Democratic Party exercise as a circular firing squad.