The Democrats’ real problems aren’t the ones you’re hearing about

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President Biden has lackluster poll numbers, and they seem stuck. Democrats can’t pass much legislation on Capitol Hill. There is wide pessimism within the party about the midterms. So a familiar blame game has begun: Message X, Person Y or Campaign Tactic Z is killing the party. The problem? Virtually none of the most common criticisms are fully accurate — and many of them are just flat-out wrong. Here are three truths about the Democrats’ struggles that puncture some of the myths: CONTINUED

Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post

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Most Americans say the coronavirus is not yet under control and support restrictions to try to manage it

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Most Americans say some restrictions on normal activities should remain in place to try to control the coronavirus, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, which finds that public wariness of the pandemic lingers even as federal health officials and a growing roster of governors have softened mask advice.

The nationwide survey also shows that, two years into a health crisis that has claimed nearly 950,000 lives in the United States, bipartisan majorities think the virus is only “somewhat under control” or “not at all” controlled. Even so, most say they have fully or mostly returned to their normal, pre-coronavirus activities. CONTINUED

Amy Goldstein & Emily Guskin, Washington Post

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Large Shares of the Public Worry about the Consequences of Both Ending and Keeping COVID-19 Restrictions

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As federal, state, and local authorities move to roll back COVID-19 restrictions, a new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey finds many people ready to get back to normal but a public also nervous about the potential consequences. Large shares of the public are worried about the implications of both keeping and easing pandemic restrictions – with partisans split on which direction worries them the most.

Overall, majorities say they worry about the potential consequences of keeping restrictions on the mental health of kids and teenagers (65%) and local businesses’ revenue (63%). At the same time, most (61%) say that they worry that lifting restrictions will put immune-compromised people at increased risk of getting sick, and nearly half worry that it could lead to more deaths in their communities (49%) or people being unable to get needed medical care due to overwhelmed hospitals (48%). CONTINUED

Kaiser Family Foundation

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Even as pandemic restrictions ease, 6 in 10 prioritize COVID-19 controls

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Even as the pandemic situation sharply improves and protective mandates are lifted, just a third of Americans see the coronavirus as mainly controlled – and six in 10 say it’s more important to try to contain the virus than to lift restrictions on normal activities.

Fifty-eight percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll continue to prioritize controlling the spread of the virus, 20 percentage points more than the share (38%) who say it’s more important to discontinue restrictions. CONTINUED

Allison De Jong, ABC News

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Americans Largely Favor U.S. Taking Steps To Become Carbon Neutral by 2050

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Amid growing global energy demand and rising carbon dioxide emissions, majorities of Americans say the United States should prioritize the development of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, and take steps toward the country becoming carbon neutral by the year 2050.

Still, Americans stop short of backing a complete break with fossil fuels and many foresee unexpected problems in a major transition to renewable energy. Economic concerns are also front of mind for many when asked to think about what a transition away from fossil fuels could mean for their own lives. CONTINUED

Alec Tyson, Cary Funk & Brian Kennedy, Pew Research Center

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Biden ente​​rs first State of the Union with second lowest approval on record

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President Joe Biden gives his first State of the Union address at a time of international upheaval. Polling shows that Americans don’t trust Biden when it comes to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s the latest manifestation of how American satisfaction with Biden and the direction of the country have turned sharply negative since the last time Biden addressed a joint session of Congress last April.

Biden has one of the worst approval ratings going into his first inaugural address of any president in the polling era. And his decline seems to come from younger Americans and non-Democrats who once supported the Democratic president. CONTINUED

Harry Enten, CNN

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