… Some seven months before Election Day, the political indicators are not encouraging for Democrats. First, the answer to one question — “Do you think things in the nation are generally headed in the right direction, or do you feel things are off on the wrong track?” — essentially provides an EKG of the American body politic. The past dozen years of failing U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan along with the widespread pain and sense of betrayal inflicted by the financial crisis depleted Americans’ historic optimism. …
Here’s the dirty little secret that keeps Democrats up at night: Any president’s job rating generally cannot rise more than 15 percent above the nation’s right-direction-wrong-track number. Thus, as long as voters remain so disappointed and discouraged about the direction of the U.S., then Obama’s job rating will remain stuck in negative territory, and Democratic candidates in November will understandably fear “the impact of an unpopular administration.” CONT.
Mark Shields
Recent polls: Direction of the nation | President Obama