I'm Michelle Goldberg.

I'm Ross Douthit.

I'm David Lee and Hart.

And this is the argument.

This week is Pete Buttigieg, the new candidate to take on Trump.

I just am not sure that a management consultant whose base is highly educated,

whites, is going to be a plausible nominee for a party that is still substantially people

of color.

We talk about the California wildfires and what to do about them.

The fire problem is a problem of climate change, but it's also a problem of public policy.

And public policy in California is completely controlled by the Democratic Party.

And finally, a recommendation.

There's a lot of optimism there, and I don't think there's a lot of optimism, a lot of places.

The New York Times published a poll this week that's shaking Democrats' confidence.

Joe Biden is running only slightly ahead of Donald Trump in key swing states.

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are trailing Trump.

It's just one poll, and the election is still a year away.

But the results are feeding a sense of anxiety among Democrats.

That Biden may be past his prime, and that Warren and Sanders may be unappealing to swing

voters.

This concern seemed to be one reason that Pete Buttigieg has surged in the polls of the

Iowa caucus.

...