It must be pretty dang bad to have Slate piling on! For now, at least.
But I think what is happening is a “ditch Joe Biden” movement by panicked Democrats. IF Joe survives and becomes the Democrat nominee, Slate and every other mainstream Lefty source will fall into the usual Democrat goose-step and once again become “vote blue no matter who” cheerleaders. Because they have neither shame nor a strong need for consistency.
But this is just giving a passing nod to truth-seeking. It is hedging their bets so, if needed, they can later say, “Well, I always saw his electoral weakness–look at what I wrote clear back in 2023!” It’s a dodge. I’m not fooled. They are the classic “bandwagon fans.” They are just trying to save their own bacon.
As President Joe Biden grows increasingly mystified by his unpopularity, he is also experiencing the worst polling of his presidency. This plummet was punctuated by last Thursday’s release of several Bloomberg/Morning Consult surveys showing him getting swept in a series of battleground states. Then, on Tuesday, yet another New York Times/Siena College survey showed former President Donald Trump beating Biden nationally and, perhaps most shockingly, with young voters. Now that the contact high of the most recent Democratic election overperformance in November’s off-year contests has worn off, genuine fear has set in among both Democratic insiders and the rank and file as the president trails Trump by 3 points in the RealClearPolitics average.
Precisely how scared Democrats should be about Biden’s standing depends on how his plight compares with those of presidents past. And there’s no sugarcoating it: This might be the worst polling environment for an incumbent president one year out from an election since the advent of the polling era in the 1930s and also the most dire situation facing any Democratic presidential candidate in decades. Panic is entirely warranted.
But yeah, this article is FULL of equivocation. They are talking out of both sides of their mouths. It is fundamentally a defensive stance. It is 3-card Monty.