Colin Reed: Biden's awful approval ratings tell us he has completely misread the issues people care about
As ineffective as he may appear, Biden is hardly a passive observer of the events around him
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As America kicked off a new workweek staring at sky-high energy prices, President Joe Biden woke up to an equally unpleasant set of numbers of his own: an approval rating that had sunk to a dismal 38 percent, according to the latest survey from USA Today/Suffolk University.
The two sets of numbers are more related than anyone in the embattled administration may care to admit. Their response to the ongoing crisis will greatly impact whether they can reverse their current tailspin. Early signs are not hopeful, either on the policy or political front.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Numbers this low are usually reserved for the latter half of a president’s second term when the nation is ready for a new direction. But for Biden, the poll comes less than a year after his inauguration, less than a week after his Democrats suffered a series of setbacks in the off year gubernatorial races and exactly one year before the country decides control of Congress for the remainder of his first term, where the GOP now enjoys a 46%-to-38% advantage on a generic congressional ballot.
About the only silver lining in the dismal approval numbers for Biden was that his second-in-command, Vice President Kamala Harris, clocked in even lower with just a 28 percent approval rating.
The information flow around Biden has gotten so bad that even positive moments for the administration, such as Friday’s jobs report or the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, barely register.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BIDEN BRUSHES OFF LAGGING POLL NUMBERS, TALKS SUPPLY ISSUES DURING LOCAL INTERVIEW
As ineffective as he may appear, Biden is hardly a passive observer of the events around him. Yes, his first nine months in office have been marked by precious few legislative accomplishments. Still, the initiatives he has pursued have demonstrated a fundamental misreading of the American electorate. In the words of Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the suddenly vulnerable so-called "moderate" Democrat from central Virginia, "Nobody elected him to be F.D.R."
That is a message Biden has yet to heed. From his first day in office, he has been hellbent on declaring war on America’s energy industry. He cancelled the Keystone XL Pipeline that provided American jobs and signed off on the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline in a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This week began with reports his administration was plotting to shut down the Line 5 pipeline in Michigan.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As Biden’s massive spending bill has been whittled down by his fellow Democrats, its size and scope has shrunk. What remains is largely focused on giveaways to the greens. The Washington Post described the $555 billion as, "the biggest climate investment in U.S. history."
FOX NEWS VOTER ANALYSIS: HOW VIRGINIA VOTERS DECIDED BETWEEN YOUNGKIN, MCAULIFFE
By constricting fossil fuel supply ahead of winter when demand increases, the actions of the Biden administration have sent energy prices higher across the board, from pain at the pump to shortages of propane and natural gas.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE TO GET THE OPINION NEWSLETTER
The increase in prices not only squeezes middle-class wallets, but it also represents a violation of Biden’s oft-repeated pledge not to raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000 dollars per year.
If the policies are unconvincing, the efforts to sell them to a skeptical public are even shakier. When initially asked about increasing energy supply, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm laughed in the host’s face, and called the question "hilarious." When queried about the prospect of $4 dollar a gallon gas, Granholm responded, "We certainly hope not."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hope, as they say, is not a strategy. It’s no wonder a Quinnipiac Poll last month showed a majority of Americans – 55 percent – describing Biden as "not competent." Incompetence is a tough word to bounce back from.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Over the weekend, Biden was quoted in a Washington Post story about a man jumping off a 100-story building: "On the sidelines of a climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Biden exchanged pleasantries with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who asked him how he was doing. "So far, so good," Biden replied. He added: "There’s this old joke. A guy jumps off [a] 100-story building. As he passes the 50th floor they asked him how he’s doing. And he says, ‘So far so good.’ "
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was a strange analogy for a presidency in peril, but give Biden credit for one thing: if current polls are to be believed, the American public agrees with his assessment of his administration – it’s in freefall.