If it seems like I’ve been criticizing Pete Buttigieg a lot lately, it’s because his political conduct annoys me.

A McKinsey alumnus and the former mayor of Indiana’s fourth-largest city, Buttigieg has improbably vaulted himself to national prominence through the now-familiar path of a blatantly self-promotional presidential run. He was Joe Biden’s secretary of transportation (most of the time), and believes that someday we will appreciate him more than we do now.

In the meantime, he is casting about for some way to remain politically relevant, given that he is, somehow, currently one of the Democrats’ best presidential hopes. At first, it ...