In the Jolt, Jim notes that “it is difficult to see that the developments in Ukraine had any impact at all” on Joe Biden’s approval rating, and then quotes a new AP poll that shows that:
President Biden has yet to see praise for his efforts to isolate Russia and aid Ukraine. Fifty-six percent of Americans think Biden’s response has not been tough enough.
“You have to wonder,” Jim adds,
if the debacle of the Afghanistan withdrawal is having a lingering effect on how Biden is perceived in this current foreign-policy crisis, particularly when you see poll results such as this one.
I think there’s a lot to that. But I also think that the majority of Americans have now decided who Joe Biden is, and that they are drawing broad conclusions as a result. It’s not especially fair to conceive of Biden’s response to Russia as “weak.” But because Biden himself seems frail and pathetic, his policy is regarded as such, too. If I’m correct about this, Biden won’t enjoy a comeback whatever he does. As Jimmy Carter learned, to be regarded as feeble by the electorate is to be issued a death sentence with no chance of appeal.