Another de-apostrophed de-quotemarked bit from Jennifer Rubin today:
Several factors explain the perception gap, not all of Bidens making. First, partisans on both sides and horserace-centric pundits in the media continually stress what Biden has not achieved. No paid family leave! Democrats didnt get even more taxes on the rich! Apparently, getting three-quarters of an ambitious agenda is no longer a victory. If losing out on paid family leave and expansion of Medicare coverage to vision and dental benefits while bringing home a bushel of other legislative results amounts to (quote mark) failure, then no president can be considered a success.
Second, many Americans continue to experience anxiety and uncertainty. Concern about inflation (transitory or not), coupled with job churn, ongoing worry about covid-19, stress from managing their childrens disrupted lives and an epidemic of mental illness, makes for disagreeable voters. In a nation that increasingly associates the president with the government and the government with American life, it is hardly surprising that he bears the brunt of that angst.
Third, the president faces the MAGA-infused hysteria that he is out to persecute Whites, (quote mark)open(unquote) borders and turn the country into a socialist hell. The right wings strategy to gin up fake outrage is aided by too many in the media unwilling to speak plainly (for example, refusing to explain that no K-12 schools teach critical race theory). With more than 90 percent of the GOP in a constant frenzy, no Democratic president could gain any significant support beyond Democrats and Democratic-leaners.
Fourth, the media obsession with process and unwillingness to grapple with substance mean that (quote)Democrats in disarray(unquote) dominates the headlines and the public remains largely ignorant of legislative proposals. Takes on whether Biden is up or down have replaced factual explanation (e.g., what is in the presidents plan, whom does it help, how does it affect the the economy), threatening a critical cornerstone of democracy: an informed public....
Whew. Anyone know any new tricks to cut-paste with the apostrophes/quote marks intact? This is getting tedious.
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