Van Jones on CNN: “I'm so glad this guy's in this race. I'm so glad he's in the country, and I can see him in the White House.”

Jonathan Karl on ABC: “Pete Buttigieg, I thought, had a good night. He went after Biden pretty hard. Biden went after him. But what was interesting about what Mayor Pete did here is he also had probably the most forceful defense that I have heard against Donald Trump's attacks on Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, and by far a more forceful defense against those attacks than Joe Biden himself.

The New York Times: Buttigieg stayed cool in the hot seat.

New York Post: Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar shine in latest Democratic debate

BuzzFeed News: How You Know Pete Buttigieg Is A Frontrunner: His Rivals Kept Targeting Him In Friday’s Debate

The Hill: Buttigieg, Sanders aim to build momentum from New Hampshire debate

Associated Press: Front-runners Buttigieg and Sanders beat back debate attacks

Dallas Morning News: Buttigieg and Sanders harness Iowa momentum at N.H. debate, as Klobuchar commands spotlight, too

The New York Times: “Buttigieg stayed cool in the hot seat … After eight debates, it can be said: Mr. Buttigieg is pretty good at debating. Once again, he found himself on the receiving end of attacks from across the stage. But at no point did Mr. Buttigieg allow himself to be drawn into a dispute he wanted to avoid. [...] By now, it’s clear Mr. Buttigieg is skilled at building a political umbrella and fitting all of his points underneath it.

…

“While other candidates are aiming to take chunks of his voters away, he has emerged as the candidate focused most on making a general election argument against Mr. Trump — a good place to be in a Democratic primary when ousting the president is most voters’ top priority.”

CNN: “WINNERS: Pete Buttigieg: The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor went into the debate as the candidate with the most momentum in the race -- and nothing that happened over the two-plus hours at Saint Anselm College will change that dynamic. Buttigieg was in control most of the night, acing a question about whether he would have ordered a strike against Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and, smartly, leaning heavily into his own military service.”

New York Post: “The Democratic Party’s two youngest frontrunners — Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar — faired the best during Friday night’s nearly three-hour forum, as their competition struggled to find decisive lines of attack…

“If I’m Pete Buttigieg, I’m feeling pretty good about how tonight went.”

The other candidates, especially Klobuchar, repeatedly took aim at the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, but failed to land any punches hard enough to stop Buttigieg’s momentum from his surprising performance in the Iowa caucuses.

The Los Angeles Times: “Buttigieg managed to keep, yes, his cool and delivered a pointed riposte, touting the outside-the-Beltway credentials that, for some, are a large part of his attraction … “If you are looking for the person with the most Washington establishment experience under your belt,” he responded, “you’ve got your candidate and it’s not me.”

Buzzfeed: “Buttigieg quickly parried each attack… Though some of the incoming was sharp, no line seemed to rise to the immediate game-changing or instant-classic levels of past pre-New Hampshire primary debates. (Think Barack Obama’s “You’re likable enough, Hillary” or Chris Christie’s takedown of Marco Rubio in 2016.)

...

“At one point Buttigieg even shared a kind exchange with Biden, on the question of whether investigations into the business dealings of Biden’s son, Hunter, would be problematic if the former vice president is the nominee.”

The Hill: “Buttigieg was ready for the attacks and went on the offensive, making the case that the best challenger to put up against Trump is someone who intimately understands working class voters in the American heartland. He also made the case for generational change, saying that it’s time to “turn the page” on old Washington ways — a direct shot at Biden, whom he’s battling to be the party’s centrist standard bearer … Buttigieg skillfully parried attacks against him for most of the night”

Associated Press: “Buttigieg sought to turn skepticism of his resume into a positive, portraying himself as a fresh face from outside Washington with experience in dealing with real-life problems and ready to lead a weary nation in a new direction.”

Dallas Morning News: “Buttigieg, whose stint as mayor of the nation’s 308th largest city, South Bend, Ind., ended a month ago, offers a soothing, pragmatic tone that appeals to Democrats weary of the rancor consuming American politics ... In Iowa, he dominated that lane, outrunning Biden and Klobuchar, who ran fourth and fifth, respectively.”

FROM TWITTER:

David Axelrod @davidaxelrod: .@PeteButtigieg turned the Soleimani question into a Commander-in-Chief answer that was very powerful.

Karen Tumulty @ktumulty: We have "a president who has no regard for the military" -- a point @PeteButtigieg also makes very effectively on the stump. It's how he won over one Trump voter I meet in Iowa --

Jeff Yarbro @yarbro: Tonight making it clear that @PeteButtigieg is strongest candidate to take on Trump when it comes to national security.

Maria Shriver @mariashriver Mayor @PeteButtigieg says we're going into the fight of our lives. He’s absolutely right about that. The Democrats are in the fight for the soul of the party, the heart of their party, the mind of their party, the future of their party. #democraticdebate

Joe Lockhart @joelockhart: Mayor Pete nailed the Commander in Chief question.  The question is will people be persuaded given his experience level.  He did all he could do though with a great answer

Dan Weeks @DemocracyDan Let’s talk about fixing our democracy. @PeteButtigieg is the only non-millionaire on the #DemDebate stage, has nearly 1 million grassroots donations, and has a comprehensive plan to enfranchise all citizens and stop big money in politics. And he can win. #nhpolitics

Max Burns: .@PeteButtigieg is echoing a great Robert F. Kennedy line about America's GDP measuring "everything except that which is worthwhile" in life - the health of our children, the intelligence of our public debate, the integrity of our public officials. It still plays. #DemDebate

Jorge Andrés @IBThatRaspOnTV Everyone went after @PeteButtigieg and he stood his ground. Big win for him. #DemDebate #democraticdebate

Jorge Andrés @IBThatRaspOnTV Excellent and strong closing statements by @amyklobuchar @JoeBiden & @PeteButtigieg ... #democraticdebate #DemDebate

Paul Rieckhoff @PaulRieckhoff Most substantive debate so far. Good job by @ABC. Strong night for @JoeBiden, @PeteButtigieg and @amyklobuchar. A push for @ewarren and @BernieSanders. Annoying as hell, but helpful to @TomSteyer. A win for @AndrewYang just being up there among the big guns.