Joe Biden Desperately Needs You to Pay Attention

You wanted calm. Calm isn’t always helpful.

Joe Biden’s approval numbers are low. According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, Biden is at 50.9 percent, which is higher than he was a month ago, but it’s still not great.

Now, it’s important to keep such numbers in perspective. That 50.9 percent disapproval rating, the one that has Democrats in such a panic — what, with the whole end of democracy issue looming— it’s a number that the previous President reached only twice during his entire term in office: Right after he was elected, and right when Covid-19 first hit. Other than that, he was way under the entire time. And he still almost won!

But it is still undeniable that Biden is not in a great spot — even though he has legitimate accomplishments to tout and, all told, isn’t that terrible at communicating them. In a terrific piece in Slate, Lili Loofbourow, who has become an absolute essential essayist (I read every single word she writes)…