Photo: Biden speaks about wild fires and climate change in Sacramento on September 13, 2021. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/ AFP via Getty Images
Sudden doubts about President Biden's competence — on Afghanistan, immigration and COVID — are driving double-digit drops in his approval in private polling in swing House seats, The Cook Political Report's Amy Walter writes.
Why it matters: "[T]hese early mistakes go directly to the very rationale of his presidency; that it would be low drama and high competence."
Besides those setbacks, Biden "looks more like a helpless bystander than an experienced Capitol Hill deal maker, watching from the sidelines as his party struggles with internal divisions," Walters writes.
- "For many voters," Walters adds, "things in Washington look like more of the same; politicians squabbling instead of solving problems."