OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
You know the Democrats are in a major jam when CNN is warning that they are headed for disaster.
This week Jake Tapper spoke to CNN reporter Harry Enten and both sent warning flares about the worsening economy and inflation and about how those are the top pressing issues on the minds of voters as the midterms approach.
When those are added to the baby formula shortage and record gas prices, none of which President Joe Biden appears to be handling with any degree of success, the poll numbers show that the voters are furious.
“Harry Enten joins us now from the magic wall with more on these rising costs. Harry, just how bad are gas prices from a historical and political point of view?” the host said.
“I think that this table tells a story. This is the yearly change and the average gasoline prices at this point in the midterm cycle,” the reporter said.
“Right now, we’re at the top. Up 53 percent from last year. That is the highest in any midterm cycle since 1994,” the reporter said. “And as a student of political history, I can’t help but notice the next highest ones, 2006, 2010, saw major gains for the opposition party in 2006 being the Democrats, 2010 being the Republicans.
“When I see gas prices like you saw in the last slide, I can’t help but think I want to do a lot more walking,” he said. “You might be asking yourself, how is this impacting President Joe Biden look at his job performance on gas prices. I don’t have to be a mathematical expert to know 31 percent is a very, very bad number.
“The vast majority, more than two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Joe Biden’s job on gas prices,” Enten said.
But Tapper had more.
“Another huge issue is inflation in general, as we head into the midterms. How is that impacting President Biden?” the host said.
“You know, I hate to say it, if I were the president, but look at this. Basically the exact same approval rating. Joe Biden’s approval rating on inflation [is] just 28 percent,” the reporter said.
“Disapproval rating, two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Joe Biden’s job performance on inflation,” the senior correspondent said as he warned, “You know that is a very, very, very, very, very bad number when what is the most urgent issue facing Americans? Look at that, inflation, 33 percent, the clear runaway there.”
And last week the daily polling average from FiveThirtyEight, just 41 percent of Americans approved of the job Biden is doing on Monday, his 489th day in office, while an eye-opening 54.6 percent disapproved.
That is the lowest approval rating for a president at this point in his term since the Second World War.
FiveThirtyEight went on to describe the impact and importance of approval ratings in January 2021, shortly after Biden took office:
If it’s possible, to sum up a presidency in a single number, that number would be the president’s approval rating — or the share of Americans who approve of the job he’s doing. Arguably, that simple percentage can determine the fate of an entire presidency.
For instance, a high approval rating can marshal support for a president’s agenda and minimize his party’s losses in the midterm elections — not to mention help the president himself win reelection. But a low approval rating can be electoral poison and imply that a president has lost the mandate to govern entirely.
At that time, Biden enjoyed a 53.9 percent approval versus a 35.1 percent disapproval rating.
At this time in George W. Bush’s presidency, his approval was soaring: 72 percent, as the country rallied around him following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
“Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and George H.W. Bush also enjoyed approval ratings of more than 60 percent at this point of their presidencies,” the Western Journal reported.
“On the other end of the spectrum, both Jimmy Carter, who presided over a devastating energy crisis, and Harry Truman, who was grappling with a railroad strike, had approval ratings of 43.1 percent on day 489 — still higher than Biden’s,” the report continued.
