April 1: The “Leroy Jenkins” Presidency
In which, Biden’s Europe trip goes less than well, the American economy is less than healthy, the American people are more than over it, and Democrats try to….. LEEEEEROY JENKIIIIIIINS!!!!!!!!!!
If you’re lost on the reference to Leroy Jenkins, let me explain the joke on this April Fool’s Day. In one of the most well known gamer memes, the “Jenkins” battle cry refers to a video recording of a moment in a World of Warcraft game when a group of gamers were trying to coordinate their efforts on a particularly difficult mission when a rogue member, having grown impatient with all the talk, rushed to the attack shouting is eponymous war cry. Panicked, the rest of the team followed to quick and crushing defeat.
Push, poll, push, poll
To watch the mishandling of crises by the Biden administration on a weekly basis, I’ve been struggling to find an analogy for an administration that seems to have tremendous difficulty with message discipline and coherent policy/decision making. It hit me as I was juxtaposing the poll numbers and headlines this week: This is a Leroy Jenkins Presidency. It's fun and crazy…. until you lose.
Just when you think President Biden couldn’t get a lower poll number, he does, and then proceeds to do something non-responsive to the increasingly clear concerns of the majority of Americans while party leaders cheerily anticipate all is well.
For example, those ever rising gas prices. Having effectively halted development of new domestic supplies of oil and gas, then slapping decimating sanctions on Russian oil and gas, the Biden administration has been unable to cajole OPEC into increasing production and has had to fall back on releasing supplies from the strategic reserve that won’t even cover the federal gas tax let alone the supply side price increases. But, Democrats blame Big Oil for this mess even as voters indicate they would support candidates favoring a reversal of Biden’s gas and oil policies. Is it any wonder that Biden’s job approval hit a new low of 40%?
The Ukraine war is another example. Americans want Biden to be tough on Russia, but not to the extent of going to war. However, on his trip to Europe last week, the President foolishly suggested Putin shouldn’t remain in power before appearing to suggest to members of the 82nd Airborne that they’d be in Ukraine soon. I don’t want Putin in power any more than the President does, but there’s a BIG difference between what a person wants and what they’re capable of getting sometimes and this is one of those times. The lack of diplomatic tact had Biden’s press team furiously backpedaling. I honestly wouldn’t blame Jen Psaki for taking another job at this juncture.
Over at MSNBC, Psaki’s future employer, “shellacking” talk in relation to the midterms is growing louder while CNN seems to have done a 180 on that “discredited” story from 2020 about potential criminal conduct by First Son Hunter Biden.
The polls look bad, messaging and policy strategies are in disarray, legislative agenda on the ropes, inflation continues to hit new highs, and media allies are getting critical.
The Disgruntled States of America
The above anecdotes indicate the increasingly high levels of frustration voters may soon be directing at elected officials come November. It is tempting to think that better messaging or proposing a popular (if ill advised) tax increase on the wealthy would fix things. But bear in mind that even with a newly gerrymandered post-census Congressional map that largely eliminates Republican advantages, the case for the midterms is being made now to a nation struggling, and it's unclear if the current crop of elected officials have fully grappled with the depth of that struggle.
One fifth of American households are on the verge of insolvency thanks to inflation and high gas prices.
Health and education outcomes for our children have been decimated in the last two years (see last week’s newsletter).
Corporate profits continue to widen income inequality.
Finance loopholes largely insulate elected officials from feeling the pain of inflation.
Recession in the next year is highly likely.
Major cities are shrinking as crime rises and jobs leave.
Pressure on the southern border is expected to rise.
Satisfaction with the direction of the US stands at a mere 24% while just over half of Americans consider themselves to be “thriving” right now.
This is not a pretty picture for the Democrats in the governing majority, but it's not a pretty picture for the internally divided Republicans looking to take over if the polling advantages hold through Election Day.
America is under duress, we’re all feeling it, and it’s stressing us out.
Ukraine: Living to fight another day
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