This week’s White House Report Card finds President Joe Biden leading what now appears to be a permanently divided nation.
Despite his promises of unity, voters this week stuck with their team, the Republicans unable to bring over enough independents and Democrats to prove that their message and that of MAGA are dominant and liberals holding on with the help of single women and younger voters.
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Democratic pollster John Zogby said that since the election did not produce the “red wave” expected in most political circles, the week was a win for Biden. “He had a much better week than the bean counters and pundits,” said Zogby in grading the week a “B.”
Conservative analyst Jed Babbin also said that the election results and the GOP’s failure to deliver bolstered Biden. And he joined with others who blamed former President Donald Trump for undermining the Republicans in the elections. In grading a “C-,” Babbin said, “It’s painful to write, but for the first time, Biden has to get a grade higher than an ‘F’ or ‘D’ because of the election results.”
John Zogby
Grade B
Biden defied history again this week. He also defied all the projections of the aggregators who gave solid odds against him.
The GOP created for itself a set of expectations that were difficult to meet and fell far below their own projections. I did a lot of television with GOP pollsters who were certain they would sweep all of the battleground states and even win, in the words of one of their best and brightest, in some states and districts that no one even considered.
My son Jeremy and I polled likely voters nationally and independents in five battleground states, and these states were too close to call. We closely watched races swing a couple of points one way and then the other, chuckling over what would be called “momentum,” “tsunamis,” and “waves.” But in the end, nothing of the sort happened. We saw GOP hubris persuade hapless Democratic consultants to throw in the towel.
Exit polls showed that inflation was the top issue, and for those who named it tops, 44% voted for GOP candidates. Abortion was the second issue, and for those who were motivated by it, the Democrats won 81% support. Climate change was a top consideration for voters 18-29, and we saw Democratic candidates win them, 66%-74%.
Through it all, the guy who was constantly being counted down and out won by doing better than predicted. He may lose the House and possibly the Senate — but he also may win them both. He had a much better week than the bean counters and pundits.
Jed Babbin
Grade C-
Biden had a very good week thanks to the non-appearance of the expected Republican “red wave.” The Democrats’ joyous celebration of the election results seemed to be an exercise in self-hypnosis.
Did people really vote for more high inflation, crime in the streets, and Biden’s open borders? Probably not, but that’s what they’re going to continue to get. Biden, when asked about what he’d do differently as a result of the election, said he wouldn’t change anything.
Biden also said he wants no more drilling for oil and continued his string of lies on many topics. It got to the point that, in respect to one particular lie (that he knows Chinese President Xi Jinping because they’ve traveled 17,000 miles together), the Washington Post gave him its “Bottomless Pinocchio” rating. It could do so for a lot of other lies he tells again and again.
More serious was the report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction that Biden had given a $1.1 billion gift to the Taliban after his August 2021 shambolic withdrawal from Afghanistan. SIGAR’s report said that it can’t figure out why the gift was made or who was responsible because several federal agencies won’t say. In other words, there’s a massive cover-up going on.
As important as these issues are, people don’t care enough about them. Republicans, who didn’t campaign on the fact that high inflation and mortgage rates are entirely Biden’s fault or the fact that crime is so high because progressive prosecutors won’t prosecute the offenders, are shocked by the result. They shouldn’t be. The Republicans may yet win the House, but even if they do, it won’t matter much because their leadership is incredibly weak.
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In truth, much of the blame for the “red wave” not arriving lies with Trump. The perfectly cynical Democrats poured money on six Trump-endorsed MAGA candidates, expecting them to lose. All six did. Now Trump is out there verbally assaulting Govs. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Glenn Youngkin (R-VA). There’s no reason for that except Trump’s realization that either would make a better candidate in 2024 than he would. Trump was a very good president who did a lot for the country. But now, he’s become politically toxic.
Trump is expected to declare his candidacy for a second term as president next week. Biden and the Democrats are looking forward to it.
It’s painful to write, but for the first time, Biden has to get a grade higher than an “F” or “D” because of the election results — nothing else.
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and managing partner Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @ZogbyStrategies
Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin
