Democratic debate: Here's why pundits are praising Pete Buttigieg's performance in Ohio

With 12 Democratic presidential candidates on stage, Tuesday night's debate from Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, was the biggest primary debate in history.

And based on the post-debate reviews Pete Buttigieg is getting, the Midwest setting may have helped the South Bend mayor feel like he was playing with home court advantage.

Here's what political pundits had to say about his performance.

Pete Buttigieg  the mayor of South Bend, Ind. speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at Otterbein University.

USA Today

USA Today called Buttigieg a debate winner, saying that he was ready to take some of his more progressive competitors to task on their policies.

"Buttigieg used forceful rhetoric during the debate to showcase his more moderate proposals," Rebecca Morin and Savannah Behrmann wrote. "Buttigieg, who over the past week has hit Elizabeth Warren on Medicare for All, did so again on Tuesday's debate stage. He criticized Warren for not fully answering whether she will raise taxes for voters for her Medicare for All plan, claiming it is an example of why people are 'so frustrated with Washington.'"

Fox News

Fox News said Buttigieg was a surprise winner of the debate. Douglas E. Schoen said the mayor had several strong moments Tuesday night. One of those moments came during an exchange with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii over President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria.

“Respectfully Congresswoman, I think that is dead wrong,” Buttigieg said. “The slaughter going on in Syria is not a consequence of American presence, it's a consequence of a withdrawal and betrayal by this president of American allies and American values.”

Schoen said Buttigieg will likely see a post-debate polling bump.

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CNN

CNN listed Buttigieg first among its debate winners, saying that his goal was to hit Elizabeth Warren on support of Medicare for All while also discussing his alternate plan.

"Buttigieg didn't stop there. His response to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's call to end 'endless wars' was powerful, leaning heavily on his own military service," Chris Cillizza wrote. "He slammed former Rep. Beto O'Rourke on gun control, with one of the lines of the night: 'I don't need lessons from you in courage, political or personal.' 

"From beginning to end, Buttigieg was a dominant and commanding force. Yes, some will say he was 'mean.' But debates — and primaries! — are about drawing contrasts, and that is what Buttigieg did. And did very well."

The Washington Post

The Post said Buttigieg had the best overall debate, with Jennifer Rubin saying that the mayor took Elizabeth Warren's tax plan head on.

She also said that Buttigieg showed that "to be a moderate doesn't mean to lack passion."

"He also smartly stressed the need to look forward to the day after Trump leaves office when serious problems will persist," she wrote. "Buttigieg particularly shined on foreign policy, explaining that a small contingent of troops was keeping the Kurds from being slaughtered. He was impassioned and on the money when it came to U.S. leadership in the world."

From IndyStar:Takeaways from Buttigieg's performance Democratic debate

Politico

Politico said Buttigieg had a standout performance Tuesday night.

Patti Solis Doyle said Buttigieg won the debate with Amy Klobuchar coming in a close second.

"Mayor Pete did not shy away from mixing it up with his opponents," she wrote. "He was ready to go after Warren’s health care plan and O’Rourke’s gun plan. As a veteran, he showed not only expertise but also strength in his Syria answer. Buttigieg spent the first months of the presidential primary campaign showing us how smart and steeped in policy he is, and tonight he showed us that he is also a fighter."

Liz Mair heaped similar praise on the South Bend mayor's performance, and said he positioned himself as "safe running-mate material."

"Buttigieg stood out tonight in terms of his ability not only to land punches on other candidates, but also to sell himself in a way that I think will appeal to what I’m guessing will, by Iowa caucus night, be an increased group of disenchanted independents and Republicans who will look to participate in the Democratic primary process after reaching their boiling point with President Trump," she wrote.

The Hill

Max Greenwood and Jonathan Easley of The Hill listed Buttigieg first when discussing which candidates stood out Tuesday night, saying he may have come out as the overall winner.

"The performance is well-timed for Buttigieg, who burst out of the gate but has stagnated in recent months," they wrote. "The South Bend mayor had set himself on a collision course with Warren in recent weeks, taking positions to establish himself as a centrist who is not afraid to take on the progressive wing of the party. Late in the debate, Buttigieg pivoted off of a Medicare for All squabble to accuse Warren of promoting “infinite partisan combat” and to criticize former Vice President Joe Biden for believing that Washington can return to normal after President Trump leaves office."

Vox

Vox listed Buttigieg among its winners alongside Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, saying that Buttigieg emerged as the "marquee candidate of the centrist Democratic party."

"He’s running as an Indiana pragmatist, not the heir to Sanders’s legacy his teenage self would’ve been excited about," Vox writes. "And while this surely annoys Beto O’Rourke and Amy Klobuchar, he is the candidate in that lane with the most fundraising prowess and the most plausible path to the nomination in the polling (especially in Iowa, where he’s in fourth, but not that far down from first). If Biden fades out, Buttigieg stands to take his place."

National Review

Jim Geraghty of the National Review said Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar were the only candidates who stood out and brought their A-games during what was a "slow, plodding night."

"Buttigieg has always turned in well-prepared performances; if his previous nights had any problem, it was that they were smooth to the point of slickness; he still has that vibe of listening to a presentation from McKinsey Consulting," he wrote. "But if tonight was the pressure night for most of the second tier, with other candidates eager to promise the moon, Buttigieg seemed like the relaxed voice of reason. He also appears to be the lone candidate in these debates to tangle with Tulsi Gabbard, veteran against veteran on the issue of the Middle East and national security, and live to tell the tale. Every candidate tries to tell personal stories about what shaped their values, but Buttigieg does this better than most with his discussion of growing up in South Bend and serving in Afghanistan."

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at 317-444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.