The Christmas journey nightmare involving Southwest Airways left a large wake of destruction with long-lasting implications. From annoyed vacationers on the practically 16,000 canceled flights to the fame of the once-popular airline to the political way forward for Pete Buttigieg – it’s been a troublesome week for all concerned.

People’ reminiscences are typically brief, however this fiasco will go away behind critical scar tissue. These passengers who missed household gatherings will all the time bear in mind this episode, particularly after the final two vacation seasons have been curtailed by the pandemic. 

Southwest and its management will face powerful questions on their outdated expertise and misplaced priorities. On the high of that record is their obsession with going inexperienced and shoveling tens of millions of {dollars} towards “carbon neutrality” to appease the woke crowd. No phrase but on what number of emissions have been saved this week amid the mass grounding of flights. 

For Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, the complications are solely simply starting. Critics are questioning the credentials of a 40-year-old former mayor of a metropolis of 100,000 residents to supervise an company with practically 60,000 workers.

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Already, he has turn out to be a pinata inside his personal get together. For an bold and proficient politician along with his eye on greater workplace, this spells hassle. The Bernie Sanders-aligned wing of the get together has been particularly noisy. Nina Turner, who co-chaired Sanders’ 2020 marketing campaign, accused Buttigieg of “failing up.” 

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., one other co-chair, accused Buttigieg of ignoring his warnings, tweeting, “this mess with Southwest may have been averted.”

Some Republicans have piled on with their very own criticism – largely centered on the $7 billion {dollars} Southwest obtained from taxpayers in COVID help – however the extra pointed critiques have come from Buttigieg’s left, which is sensible. 

Having exceeded all expectations in 2020, Buttigieg is considered as a rising star, a reputation to look at within the coming years. His transfer from deep crimson Indiana, the place Democrats are going extinct, to neighboring blue Michigan solely fueled that hypothesis.

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Initially, Buttigieg’s cupboard place was seen as a stepping stone to greater workplace. Like Vice President Kamala Harris, it has turn out to be a political lead balloon.

The Southwest fiasco was not the primary blemish on his resume. It was the most recent episode in a rising sample of occasions. In 2021, the time period “provide chain” morphed from an esoteric time period in a textbook to actual life ache for annoyed shoppers ready for items that was available. This yr it was revealed Buttigieg was vacationing in Portugal whereas again house heated rail contract negotiations veered towards a strike.

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In the meantime, the present commonplace bearer of the Democratic Celebration, an 80-year-old Joe Biden, faces ongoing questions on his means to wage one other nationwide marketing campaign. A USA TODAY/Suffolk College ballot discovered that simply 8% of respondents referred to as 66-80 years outdated an excellent age for a president.

The Southwest fiasco was not the primary blemish on Buttigieg’s resume. It was the most recent episode in a rising sample of occasions.

Sure, Biden’s Democrats loved a much more profitable midterm election than anybody anticipated, however his approval ranking stays caught nearer to 40 than 50. Ought to he run once more, Biden received’t have the quilt of COVID to maintain him out of the highlight.

To make certain, Buttigieg stays a proficient politician in a political get together with an exceedingly shallow bench in determined want of some youthful faces. It’s not out of the query he may spin this complete episode right into a internet optimistic. 

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However one factor is obvious: he might want to take it head-on. For nearly each Democrat (and sadly too many Republicans), the federal authorities is the fast scapegoat to each downside underneath the solar – even within the non-public sector. Gone are the times of free markets and letting shoppers punish Southwest by selecting different airways.

For a Democratic Celebration quickly looking for its subsequent chief, Christmas 2022 could possibly be a make-or-break second for one of many potential contenders.

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