Michael Whatley, the current chairman of the Republican National Committee, appeared on Fox News late last week to summarize what he sees as the fundamental question of the 2024 presidential race:
The RNC chief clearly had some grammatical issues toward the end of the quote, but other than that, Whatley sputtered out a familiar refrain. Republicans have invested heavily in the idea that President Joe Biden will lose for the simple reason that the country was better off four years ago.
Indeed, Whatley cannot think of “a single metric” that is moving in the right direction when comparing 2020 and 2024.
Of course, if the RNC chairman is genuinely interested in the underlying question, there are all kinds of evidence to consider. Paul Krugman of the New York Times explained in a recent column that the Reagan-era “Are You Better Off Than Four Years Ago?” The question is “almost ridiculously favorable to President Biden.”
Krugman’s list was of course just a selection. As we’ve discussed, there are plenty of other related data points: The nation’s uninsured rate improved under Biden. Supply chain challenges improved under Biden. The costs of many prescription drugs improved under Biden. Infrastructure investment improved under Biden. The budget deficit improved under Biden. The US murder rate improved under Biden.
The United States’ global standing improved dramatically after Biden replaced Trump in the White House.
Whatley wants Americans to believe that there is “no single metric” that has improved over the past four years. If we’re being too literal about it, I think there’s some truth in that assessment – because there a large number of standards that show how much better off the United States is compared to four years ago.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
