When asked on his campaign bus this month whether he was comfortable with comparisons to the former president’s campaign, Buttigieg answered cautiously, but in the affirmative.

“No two candidates are the same,” he said. “But at the same time, I think there are some rhymes that are worth paying attention to.”

Still, there is one glaring difference between the two campaigns — their respective relationships with the African-American community. By the fall of 2007, Obama was already capturing over half of the African-American vote in South Carolina, according to several polls. Buttigieg’s support among African-Americans there, however, is close to non-existent — 0 percent, according to one recent South Carolina poll…

“There are some real parallels particularly with the excitement on the ground and crowds that are showing up even in smaller, rural, more Republican areas,” Dan Pfeiffer, a former Obama communications staffer for the Obama campaign who would eventually become White House communications director, said. “The parallels are real, but imperfect. In 2008, our campaign had a very specific plan and path to build on an Iowa win. Obama had high name ID and high approval rating among African-American voters in South Carolina and across the country, we believed an Iowa win could cause a shift in support among that cohort.”