This week’s White House Report Card finds President Joe Biden planning to wander around key battleground states to boost key Democratic Senate candidates. But he will be dogged by a troubled economy, the Fed’s plan to continue raising rates at a radical rate, and troubling crime and immigration reports.
Democratic pollster John Zogby, grading the week a B-, said that while Biden’s approval rating appears to be holding steady, advances by Republicans in key Senate races that are forcing the president into battleground areas show the week “belonged to the GOP.”
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Conservative analyst Jed Babbin, grading the week a D-, said the national problems hitting the economy are driving voters away from Biden and his team. And, he added, there are growing concerns about the president’s mental state and weak vice president.
John Zogby
Grade B-
If we are looking at just the numbers on Biden, then this was a good week. His approval numbers are holding steady at an average of 44%, and there was some good economic news. The gross domestic product grew last quarter at a 2.6% clip — better than expected and nowhere near the projected recession. New applications for unemployment barely hit 200,000 for the week.
But the week belonged to the GOP as its Senate candidates gained support in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.
I recall at this point in 2012, Mitt Romney was neck-and-neck with former President Barack Obama, and in 2016, Hillary Clinton was holding strong (even double-digit) leads in many of those battleground states. Things can and have happened in the closing week of an election. But despite a good numbers week for Biden, the GOP owned it. But it would be totally irresponsible for me (or anyone else, for that matter) to make any calls yet.
Jed Babbin
Grade D-
Biden’s increasingly frequent drifts away from reality, coupled with Vice President Kamala Harris’s rhapsodizing about school buses, pretty much completed another failed week. This week was another display of how little reality invades the White House and how weak the president’s grip on it is.
Where to start? How about Biden’s statement that he was only able to pass his student loan buyout plan by a few votes despite it never facing congressional action? Then there was Biden’s statement that the price of gasoline was $5 a gallon when he came into office — twice what it actually was.
To cap it all off, Biden said that his veep was “a great president.” The man doesn’t even know what position he holds. And then, there was the tree planting ceremony at the White House. Biden drifted off when it ended, saying, “Where do we go from here?” Fortunately, some staffer guided the confused old man to his next event.
Crime rates have skyrocketed in most major cities and nationwide. Inflation is steady at about 8%, mortgage interest rates are at 7% (highest in about 20 years), and as I wrote last week, a lot of people are skimping on Thanksgiving dinner because it’s too expensive.
Kamala: “Who doesn’t love a yellow school bus, right? Can you raise your hand if you love a yellow school bus?Many of us went to school on the yellow school bus, right?” pic.twitter.com/ackasjj4Z3
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 26, 2022
The Biden crew continues to claim that our border is secure. The truth is that at least 2.2 million illegal immigrants came into the country in fiscal 2022. That doesn’t include the over 600,000 “gotaways” who are the drug smugglers, other criminals, and terrorists Biden’s open border lets into the country. About 200 people believed to be terrorists were captured in September alone.
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And then, there’s Harris, speaking wistfully about school buses. She said, “Who doesn’t love a yellow school bus, right?” The millions of children who have to ride them for hours on school days (and their parents) don’t.
We reportedly only have about 25 days of diesel fuel left in the country due mostly to refinery incapacity. If and when shortages occur, the U.S. economy will slow down dramatically. If the supply runs out, the economy will come to a crashing halt.
And let’s not forget that in New York and much of New England, the rationing of heating oil has already begun. It’s going to be a long, cold winter, thanks to Biden. The GDP did rise by about 2% in the third quarter, temporarily bringing us out of the Biden recession. That’s the only reason the grade this week isn’t an F.
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
