The last time this happened, voters didn’t credit Bill Clinton. That may be a bad omen, or a good one.
If the stock market chose presidents, Joe Biden would be a shoo-in for reelection in 2024. The market rallied this month amid growing optimism about the economy, with the S&P 500 zooming 1.9 percent Tuesday on news that the consumer price index rose only 3.2 percent in October (compared to 3.7 percent in September). Stocks rallied again Wednesday on news that the producer price index fell 0.5 percent. Commentators are no longer debating whether the economy will experience a “soft landing” (i.e., a reduction in inflation without recession). The only question now is when it will arrive. The S&P 500 seems to have decided it’s already here.
But the stock market doesn’t choose presidents. Voters do, and polls continue to show they think the economy is in terrible shape. A Financial Times–Michigan Ross Nationwide Survey conducted November 2–7 is absolutely brutal on this point.
Look, if your point is that “they deserve to use shitty messaging if they want, don’t worry about it, bro”, well, okay. That’s your opinion, and that’s fine. I don’t think it’s a smart choice, politically speaking, and that’s where I’m coming from. People are feeling the hurt right now, and I think you’re going to find that correcting their complaints with “we should be thanking Biden, actually” is bitter medicine. Maybe they know what they’re doing, but somehow this feels familiar from the '16 Clinton Campaign; like they’ve got permission to fucking phone it in because the other guy is unelectable. I hope you’re right and they really do know what they’re doing.
My point is a rebuttal to your insinuation that Democrats are not trying to fix anything or do anything. That’s false.
I agree Dems aren’t as good at messaging as Republicans.