I hate the media assumption that the number one goal of any politician MUST be their approval rating. Yes, it's important to get reelected to continue implementing an agenda, but it's also important to actually get stuff done that needs doing. Biden's administration is striving mightily to do that and has had many notable successes in the policy arena. Those are the items that will be remembered in the history books versus his month-to-month approval rating.
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Your posts continue to get better and better. I've subscribed for some time and I've noted that ALL of your pieces have become timely, focused on angles that are not otherwise covered, tightly reasoned, and balanced without resorting to any false equivalence. Well worth the subscription. Thank you.
Over the last several months, I've seen takes that Biden "needs to do more" about inflation or gas prices and thus increase his approval rating. A take that I saw was Biden needed to release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to reduce gas prices. Biden eventually did, but it really didn't do that much for his approval rating or to reduce gas prices. Inflation is a problem but the Federal Reserve controls monetary policy. Biden has little control over gas prices or inflation. The people who are making these takes are concerned about Democrats getting crushed in the midterms (which is hard to avoid) and are worried about Biden getting reelected (too early to tell). I agree that people are focusing on what Biden can do to improve his approval rating than trying to understand why people are thinking the way they are thinking.
I hate the media assumption that the number one goal of any politician MUST be their approval rating. Yes, it's important to get reelected to continue implementing an agenda, but it's also important to actually get stuff done that needs doing. Biden's administration is striving mightily to do that and has had many notable successes in the policy arena. Those are the items that will be remembered in the history books versus his month-to-month approval rating.
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Your posts continue to get better and better. I've subscribed for some time and I've noted that ALL of your pieces have become timely, focused on angles that are not otherwise covered, tightly reasoned, and balanced without resorting to any false equivalence. Well worth the subscription. Thank you.
Hi Elliott,
Over the last several months, I've seen takes that Biden "needs to do more" about inflation or gas prices and thus increase his approval rating. A take that I saw was Biden needed to release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to reduce gas prices. Biden eventually did, but it really didn't do that much for his approval rating or to reduce gas prices. Inflation is a problem but the Federal Reserve controls monetary policy. Biden has little control over gas prices or inflation. The people who are making these takes are concerned about Democrats getting crushed in the midterms (which is hard to avoid) and are worried about Biden getting reelected (too early to tell). I agree that people are focusing on what Biden can do to improve his approval rating than trying to understand why people are thinking the way they are thinking.
-Elliot
Great column...I thought that Cohn's article was crap; another example of the elite neo-liberal's fear of any change,,,