On the one hand, I don't disagree, and I certainly don't think the right strategy is for Pete Buttigieg to sit on his hands and not say anything.

But, Republicans are no better. Like outside of a few key celebrities (and even within those key celebrities) are a bunch of people who look even more out of touch than the average Democrat. Trump and Elon Musk are maybe two of the greatest salespeople the world has ever seen (and within that all the implications that implies) But like, arguably even Pete Buttigieg, probably the best communicator in the party right now can't come close to them. The point of which is to just assess benchmarks. What is the art of the possible? We should certainly expect more of the leaders of the party, and I think everyone suspects there are core problems at the top, but the rank and file will probably always be sort of a median level of successful. Though we could go like the Republicans and just do some ideological purges.