If looked at The Drudge Report yesterday, you’d have seen this headline:
Apparently, the man-who-wasn’t is going to prosecute President Trump.
The Washington Post’s splash page was trumpeting President Biden’s “triumphs.”
This selective reporting or intentional “curation” of what counts as the lead stories of the day can be quite telling.
If a Brit or an Aussie or a Frenchman read the headlines from the leading left-center media, you’d forgive them for missing what’s actually going on in American and American politics.
The White House and its allies in left-wing media are trying to distract Americans from the strong currents that trouble the waters not only of life in America but of the politicians and powerbrokers of the Democrat party.
Mayo’s 11% more expensive and your dollar buys 10% less
A day after Walmart warned investors that its profit would shrink as rising prices forced shoppers to make fewer purchases at its stores, Unilever, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, three other consumer-facing giants, reinforced the message, to different degrees, providing a window into how companies are navigating this fragile economic moment.
On Tuesday, Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, said it raised prices until they were 11 percent higher than in the same quarter last year, offsetting a 2 percent decline in the volume of things that consumers bought. It was the fourth consecutive quarter in which prices outpaced volume growth at the company.
Unilever raised its forecast for revenue this year but said that its profit would most likely be at the bottom of its expected range, held back by a sharp increase in the prices of plastics, palm oil, aluminum and other commodities it uses as inputs.
They’re raising the price of Hellman’s mayo, folks. Hardly a good sign for the state of consumer confidence in the midwest. Good thing I prefer Duke’s mayo.
The takeaway from all of this?
Passing higher prices on to shoppers has led some to buy less or trade down to cheaper store brands, Unilever’s results suggested, a trend also seen in Walmart’s recent financial reports. To keep its higher-priced brands in consumers’ minds, Unilever said that it added about $200 million to its marketing budget in the first half of the year, another factor that put a dent in its profits [Emphasis added]
Shoppers are buying less because stuff costs more, and their dollar buys less. This is not the foundation to build your mid-term election around, let alone make the case for re-election to the White House in 2024.
But it gets worse for Biden.
Dems ready to divorce Joe
It’s one thing to be struggling with unaffiliated voters, and the economic pressures are driving a wedge between them and Biden’s Democrats. However, it is a whole new world of problems to be losing your base of support in your own party.
Twenty-five percent said they prefer Biden as the nominee, which is a steep drop from 45% in January/February.
The poll shows a sharp downturn in enthusiasm for a 2024 reelection bid by the President. In January/February, 51% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters said they wanted someone other than Biden to be the Democratic nominee in 2024. [Emphasis added]
The downturn in enthusiasm among Democrats should have alarms going off at DNC headquarters for THIS election. Enthusiasm in polling often correlates with how likely those base voters are to donate and volunteer to help campaigns. Low enthusiasm means few volunteers (less door knocking, less phone banking) and fewer low-dollar donations.
None of that is good for the Dems midterm efforts, and a bloodbath in the November midterms isn’t going to help Biden’s standing with his party or with the power brokers for the left-wing establishment.
If not Joe, whom?
It’s easy enough to play armchair quarterback and say that Biden shouldn’t run again, but who’s going to take his place?
Are the Dems really ready for Round 2 of the Woke Primary? Is that really going to help their chances of winning?
Unlikely.
Might it be Kamala?
Let’s hope not. It’s hard to imagine someone less coherent than Biden in the White House, but Harris seems to be doing her best Selina Meyer impersonation.
Mayor Pete rides (his bicycle) to the rescue
Pete Buttigieg appears to be a possible favorite. The Hill reports:
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Survey Center Granite Poll found that 17 percent of likely 2024 Democratic primary voters in the state would choose Buttigieg among a list of Democrats, or those who caucus with Democrats, who are considered possible 2024 presidential contenders.
Mayor Pete is hardly a shining star without blemish. His time as Transportation Secretary has been marked by his secret paternity leave, the botched handling of the supply chain crisis (remember the miles of cargo ships unable to be unloaded?), and even conducted a made-for-Instagram stunt of “biking” to a cabinet meeting.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was mocked by conservative critics online after a video appeared to show security staffers unloading his bike from the back of an SUV so that he could “ride” to an April 1 Cabinet meeting.
Two SUVs then followed the millennial Cabinet secretary to his meeting as he pedaled off. Full video was posted online by local WFMZ-TV.
