What Pete actually said (full quote), per the reporter in his apology.

[femmedem]

“I also fundamentally believe that there is no going back. My message is not about going back to where we were. I think because I come from a part of the country where normal has been a real problem for a very long time, and I think the failures of the old normal help explain how we got to Trump, I am much more interested in building a future that is going to have a lot of differences."

[yardwork]

1. It's shocking to me that the reporter inserted Obama into that quote.

The internal consistency and repetition of "old normal" in the actual quote makes it difficult to imagine how the reporter could hear "Obama."

[femmedem]

4. Having just transcribed some oral histories, I can see how it happened.

"Old normal" and Obama both have three syllables and begin with a long O.

If there was background noise and time constraints it's a plausible mistake. It takes me hours and hours to transcribe a thirty minute interview. Sometimes I have to replay a phrase a dozen times before I'm certain I heard it correctly. Reporters have to be 100% accurate, but they also have to meet their deadline. Very tough. (Admittedly, my recent interviews were with people in their eighties and their voices weren't strong.)

[emmaverybo]

2. Nothing "normal" got us Trump. I don't call racist backlash and Russian attack mere "failures."

Even revised, I find Buttigieg’s analysis flawed and wanting.

[Docreed2003]

3. Maybe I'm wearing tinfoil too early in the morning

But that misquote seems almost intentional in retrospect

[femmedem]

5. I doubt it.

I can see why you'd think so because it has caused so much damage. And it might be a case of the reporter having a prior expectation of what Buttigieg would say.

But Obama and "old normal" could sound similar on a tape with a lot of background noise: three syllables beginning with a long O.

[Docreed2003]

6. I know...I'm just being crotchety this morning

[femmedem]

7. I'm feeling a little crotchety too!

Just worked nineteen days straight, have today off, woke up with a headache that is foiling my plans for the day. Oh well.

I hope we both feel better as the day goes on.

[bamagal62]

8. The fact that "Obama era" both end in vowels

And “old normal” end in consonants makes me suspect about it being a mistake.