Everything's Fine.

So why is everyone so grumpy?

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The headline and the sub-headline above, taken together, puzzle many in the liberal-media-political world, especially those whose job is to convince us that President Biden is a strong candidate for re-election and the Democrat best positioned to defeat Donald Trump (or any other Republican, for that matter).

We’ve avoided recession, unemployment is at record lows, inflation has cooled, Biden has rallied and strengthened NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China is on the back foot, we have begun the transition to a more climate-sustainable future, Biden has been steady under pressure, etcetera. So goes the narrative (true or not).

So what’s up with the voters? What’s the matter with them? Why can’t they see things as “we” do?

“What’s the matter with you?” isn’t exactly a winning message, so they might want to work on that. But “messaging” isn’t the problem. The reason so many voters aren’t on board with what might be called “the Biden narrative” is simple: They’ve run out of money.

The first two items in this morning’s News Items tell the tale.