Presidencies are often defined by slogans. Barack Obama had “hope and change,” Donald Trump promised to “Make America great again.” Hillary Clinton had…well that’s precisely the point. It was always difficult to identify her rationale for running, one of the factors that sunk her campaign.
Merely three weeks before America votes, President Joe Biden has settled on his mantra, and it’s a doozy: “strong as hell.”
Delivered from a Baskin Robbins in Oregon with an ice cream cone in hand, his description of the economy immediately took over the national news dialogue. With this kind of messaging, it’s no wonder the President’s campaign events have been limited to deep blue pockets of America. He’s an albatross everywhere else.
After all, “strong as hell” stands in stark contrast to almost every available piece of data. September’s inflation rate clocked in higher than expected. The average price of a gallon has ticked back up to nearly four dollars per gallon. Mortgage rates spiking to 7%, a 20-year high. Meanwhile, the national debt hit a new record of $31 trillion earlier this month.
You don’t need an advanced degree in economics to realize the economy is far from strong. You feel it at the checkout line when you pay much more for far less. Or when a part for a vehicle or appliance is on back order for weeks. Or when those electric bills arrive significantly higher for a similar level of use. In my home state of New Hampshire, many are wondering how they’re going to keep their homes warm this winter.
More than two-thirds of Americans believe our country is on the wrong track, according to the RealClearPolitics average. In a New York Times/Siena College poll, nearly half (44%) of voters describe the economy or inflation as the most important problem facing our country.
Yet Biden is trying to convince that same electorate that things are “strong as hell.” To be fair, it’s a change from previous messaging that included waving off inflation as “transitory” or dismissing it as a “high class problem.”
The President refuses to accept responsibility for the unnecessary $1.9 trillion dollar “American Rescue Plan Act” on the tail end of COVID-19. Or the $433 billion and laughably titled “Inflation Reduction Act.” Even now, Senate Democrats are licking their chops about the lame duck legislative session. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has talked about a vote on her incredibly misguided “American Innovation and Choice Online Act,” which former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has warned would exacerbate inflation.
When a ruling party becomes so clearly detached from the challenges of the electorate, elections have a way of restoring equilibrium. In 2013, President Obama assured voters that “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.” During that fall, four million Americans received cancellation notices in the mail. Obama’s declaration turned into the “Lie of the Year,” and Democrats suffered in the ensuing midterms.
In 2022, Biden’s Democrats are going to spend the closing weeks of the campaign explaining their point of view on the “strong as hell” economy. Even those that dare put distance between the head of the party will be forced to answer for their votes that enabled his governing agenda that got us in this mess. In a Congress as closely divided as our current body, there is nowhere to hide.
It’s not an enviable political position. Come January, it’s likely to lead more Democrats in search of more than just a new message, but also a new messenger all together.
Scott Brown is the former United States Ambassador to New Zealand and served in the United States Senate from 2010-2013.
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