Sunday Morning Extra: Mayor Pete Buttigieg

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Learn more@edwardjones.com this is John Dickerson for Sunday morning. Last weekend we told you all about Mayor Pete Democratic presidential candidate people to judge Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Now we invite you to spend some more time at his home with the mayor's husband chest and Glassman and their dog buddy chest you have off to your left who who is joining us from Babette's body and what role does buddy play in life. Here he's now heard his name mentioned and he's moving into a different position he probably things were getting ready to feed him again but he keeps us on our toes. Your dogs have become a part of this phenomenon that is around Mayor Pete and around your marriage and run your list what roles to the dog lay in your life going over very vocal. They have a lot of opinions they they like to let everyone know what the real life is like a behind the curtain here and are not shy about those opinions either.

But you know we just we just want them to live their truth so giving the platform to sound like a budding cable television system so chest and take me back to the first time you met yeah, here in South Bend.

Remember I pulled up, I rented a car drove over to South Bend pulled up in front of the house scared to to pick up Pete and he opened the door and we both said Howdy. At the same time and then sort of jump back in and he said wait, what, that's my word, and it was a magic ever sense I guess. And when did you learn that politics played the role in his life that it does. I mean, he was clever about the photos that he put on his profile so when someone standing behind a podium with her name on it, and surrounded by people clapping and cheering. Figured I should probably Google his name and then found out what role he played, but I didn't really know how to prepare for that. So I figured I'd take a chance and all of the conversations we had up until our first date were great. Seemed like a really nice guy but I didn't know how to prepare for what may be public life for being next to a very visible figure would be like on our first date.

The way people approached him and talk to him and watching the way he responded to. People was really refreshing actually can go along with this.

It wasn't as intimidating as I thought it might be described him around other people around constituents was always called I thought perhaps you know when people would approach him. She would be deep in his voice or on a persona, you know, you become someone else. This polished political figure, but what I quickly realized was that he was just the same person we were in the pot on our first date we had gotten dinner and we were right to a baseball game so that's when I saw him interact with people for the first time a lot of people coming up and asking if they could take pictures with him with their kids, people approaching us at the game wanting pictures just to say hello or to express their concerns or opinions about things he was just really Coleman and kind to people in and was a really great listener wasn't offensive at all wanted to help me repeat what was the conversation like between the two of you when you decided to run for president. What I think each of us had done a lot of thinking about it. So whenever were talking about it together was largely just kinda ready for this. Are we sure are you sure my sure when do you first tell chest you know I mean did you say nice to me, jumping and running for president or when did you let him know that you had these chest and sometimes reminds me about our first date was maybe will skittish about being with a politician he is with future look like that's right it was honest at the time which puts you know I'm up for reelection as mayor five really good second term than in 2020.

There's a possibility you might be considered for governor and we would take it from there. You know neither one of us bargain for this being what 20/20 would look like for us just to wind the Board President come into the household in a serious way. I specifically remember a moment when we were we're getting ready for bed and folding laundry and were just going over his day what happened his political retreat, he had mentioned thinking maybe we know about running for president for safe president for real you're really thinking about that and that was last last year.

Late summer I think we really started cooking up the idea a lot of things in your life for me.

You have come out your mayor of a town. Your father died you're running for president gotten married 9 million last year. That's a lot of that's a lot of stuff on your plate is quite rapid. How do you have how do you manage that we know this really never a good time for things like this.

And so you know whenever you do something like this. It's disruptive. It's been a crazy year. If you start the clock in June. As you said you got married lost my father, lost chest. Grandmother published book started running for president. It's a lot you are slowly renovating the home you live in yet rice is having. That is another guidance for the slow motion drama put it sound like a lot, but some of those things really reinforce the other two, especially the marriage earlier so soon I was single and I got to know other mayors and other people elected office. I always marveled at how they did that.

How can you possibly have marriage and and also do this and be good at both of those things, but now I think about the other way around.

I think how could I possibly be doing this if it weren't for chest if I didn't have someone in my life who cares about me is me and who will love me the same no matter how well or how poorly things are going out there and who will tell me the truth especially fun veering off of who I truly am. And you and you will be something in my life that I care about more than the other stuff since the most is just such a blessing to be able to come home whenever I do get to come home to this home and it also on the road to know the regression to each other. The other day and just be with all the stuff going on around us, so the marriage gives you ballast in the frenetic world absolutely yes sometimes it, you will actually it's just like flowing around us look like water moving around a rock and River.

It's something that's that.

I grab hold, because if you start getting absorbed in the rhythm of political life more than is healthy you want it, not knowing who you are, without just and what you think about when you hear that description of your relation is really poetic for God's will let him answer. I agree.

A lot of the things you you listed in the last year are the things that are grounding us, reminding us why politics matters.

You know what watching and losing Peter's father and and losing my grandmother and being there for my mother when she's going through chemotherapy treatment remind us why healthcare is important, remind us my family so important why politics is about making people's lives better, not worse or really just for doing this for everybody who has a story like that we political before this relationship, not at all and are you little now. I think someone say yeah I think I'm more opinionated now than I used to be near P talked about how you might pull him back if he gets too absorbed in the race. So what advice do you give him when he might be becoming too much of a candidate walking out the same advice he gives me sometimes our lives now are surrounded by people and and media telling us who we should be and what we should change in what we should say and and some days it overwhelms me, and he reminds me of what what truly matters. Why were here why were doing what were doing and some days it overwhelms him in her mind. Turn the phone off with the brief away and take a deep breath and just remember why we agreed to do this and so I think we ground one another, but they're out there are definitely days where I think I can get really overwhelming and that he just needs to be reminded. It's okay to shut it out. It's just noise and for you. What is the answer to why we agreed to do this to make people's lives better. I was never political. I just watch how politics affected my family affected my hometown affected the people around me growing up as a gay man in this country watched how people talked about queer people and I just I just want the country to be a better place for people like my parents after people at Pete's parents are people here in South Bend or back home in Michigan. This the only reason we were doing this is to make other people's lives better. Do you feel that your marriage is campaigning as well because you are doing something that is new in American politics that you have to answer for it.

Are you.

I don't have to answer for me with past marriage equality on the Answer for my marriage anymore but I do enjoy going out there with Pete and showing people that gay marriages is just like a straight marriage mean we have our same spousal quarrels over laundry and who take the trash out you know who forgot to pay the bill this week to normal reminding one another, of why date nights important to her. You know, showing people that we go to the grocery store together as well that having that part I enjoyed showing people early on here in South Bend we could on the idea that we should just be like any other couple and invite people to treat us like any other couple and see what happens. And for the most part people to I guess that's the same way were treating a national now I want I will am excited for people to get to know test is the goal love in the same way I'd but it's not know it's it's not designed to be political, is just who we are and being who we are is worked out really well for us over.

You have to rescue it from being political. Sometimes people just being yourself and people think it's a statement probably in politics will especially become really visible scribbling everything is safe and sometimes it is sometimes you're just doing her thing and I think were still negotiating like how those things overlap is also fair to say were one of the more just one more visible spouses as these things go. And that's not a function of our gay marriage that that's a function of who he is and how we bring so much to do this process just you seem to be having fun.

Campaigns are not always fun know they're not but I mean I enjoy making people laugh.

I enjoy going to meeting people, making them feel good about this process and I mean if if we were having fun. We agreed when we started this project were to be authentic to ourselves over and have fun. If we can do both and we shouldn't do this so person and not try to have as much fun as possible was the end look like as you as you go through this process. I don't know.

I'm not about being in the White House you know is as much time is I could spend thinking about the White House. I just want to focus on doing a good job right now I really don't want. I catch myself up and measuring drapes is a safe, but I it's not lost on me that this historical moment and what that could mean for the White House and if I can bring a fresh perspective to the White House and invite people into politics and in that wonderful historical institution, and I'm really happy to fill the shoes why teaching what you going to teach. There's just something magical about working with kids and getting them to believe in themselves, really. I some really great teachers who really inspired me to be my right yourself but he is set when somebody what I do not like the way this is going, says Buddy, are down yeah sure I was sorry and ruining the shot.

Yeah, I recall, this is like politics.

This is like the trail you think you're doing a great job comes from the left and interrupt everything that where is Soucy now that could be a political statement.

Didn't mean for it to be. Welcome to politics.

The body right we keep going okay.

Just wanted you going to teach to get the best job I do really bad teachers have a lot of impact on me teachers who told me to dream a little smaller so my dreams were realistic. I have a lot of great teachers who taught me to believe in myself and those are the ones that made the best impact and I want to be that person for other kids.

I just enjoy being in the classroom with them in and asking them to think about the world little bit differently challenging them and getting them to believe in themselves. Get kids to believe in himself to me. Is it a gentle moment for some kids I'm it's different for every kid and for some kids that that's a long process because they they just don't see it in themselves to try to peel away all those things that are telling themselves and for some kids it's as simple as saying your left in your cared about and this is a safe place for you to be in II love having you here and watching them.

You know, being with happiness that someone finally told them you matter. It can be as simple as that. And that's the best thing about teaching is that you are surrounded by, sometimes hundreds of kids who are all bring different things.

The table and you have to figure out what it will take to get them to believe is not message transferable into politics or would that yeah no I think it is. I think some people just need to be told you matter and they need to see someone specifically in the highest office in Lansing. I care about you. I want you here and then for other people. There's a lot of is a lot of stuff in their way.

To believe in politicians to believe in politics and the belief in this country again and so as a teacher and as a politician were both working towards getting people to just believing Pete writers say that their spouses end up being there editors and the poor spouses have to listen to all of their ideas is there trying to write them and think about them to use chest and as your one true trusted person to talk about some of the stuff that you talk about the campaign for what or is it the refuge that you can come back home and not have to deal with having been out there doing for better for worse were were not a couple were either one of us leaves work at the door and comes home. I hear a lot of triumphant in the venting of what's happened in the intestines day and I think, vice versa.

I disagree. We make sure time to time that we can just turn it off. It's just it's it's time for bowling.

It's time for game of thrones were not to think about politics or next couple hours. What is the fastest way to get away from the campaign trail for either one of you when you're together we will board games a great night here is just cracking open a beer and playing board games so we also can or cannot risk ticket to ride.

We have some of those on our phone to so we can claim on airplane the complaint in the car you ever play them when you're not together. Can you play, you know you don't relocate her wrist or friends to place the sped up risk or do you play the full original risk depends on which version of risk we would have a game of thrones with a game from you. That one is going along slow winters day. I suppose it's not things will happen for us for takeout with preacher Gary this week Stephen long ally of Mitch McConnell in one of Washington's biggest midterm money.

Myth list for me to Senate races you think Republicans have the best chance of taking a democratic seed with Nevada not Georgia.

George is right up there, but New Hampshire's surprise New Hampshire people really just kind of don't like Maggie have for more from this week's conversation, follow the takeout with Maj. Garrett on Apple podcasts forever. You get your podcasts