Regardless of whether it is a grim turn in the coronavirus pandemic, another obstacle to his congressional agenda, the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan or a supply chain crisis that chokes the economy, Biden’s public reaction is often similar – and it keeps him out of the sight of ordinary Americans whose support he needs raise its agenda through Congress. He has fallen into the pattern of making short televised speeches from one of the state rooms in the White House or elsewhere in the presidential complex Non-partisan infrastructure plan worth $ 1 trillion and $ 3.5 trillion spending plan Failing to get through Congress earlier this month, Biden vowed to tour the country to sell his vision to Americans. He’s made several trips lately – to Michigan to solicit large investments in the economy and Illinois to advance its spending plans and vaccine mandates – and on Friday he goes to Connecticut. But there’s no sign of a wild coast-to-coast presidential tour or relentless, daily coordinated messaging push to get the Democrats out of the country Schism over his agenda this raises doubts about the leadership ability of the party. While trying to get two moderate Senate Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, to deal with the frustrated progressives of the House of Representatives, the president has failed to do what would help him most : Finding the popular support needed for a deal.

Biden’s lack of visibility worked better than expected during the 2020 campaign as he largely stuck to choreographed, virtual events in the first year of the Covid-19 crisis. His statesmanlike demeanor contrasted with the wild super-spreader rallies of then-President Donald Trump, which were the key to alienating moderate, independent and suburban voters who helped shape the election. At the start of Biden’s presidency, the contrast with Trump and Biden’s reluctant leadership resulted in a $ 1.9 trillion bailout plan for Covid-19 to crown its first 100 days.

But with the economy struggling to get Americans back to work after the Delta variant sparked a resurgence of the virus, many Americans are battling inflation, and their own approval ratings are weakening after staying consistently strong early on, it is fair to ask if the president’s method is to start wearing thin.

Biden made it clear all along that he wanted to restore the dignity of his office after the tumult of Trump’s tenure. In contrast to Trump, he has little reason to attack the American psyche 24 hours a day. If he can finally get the spending bill and infrastructure package passed, he will have two pillars of what may be an impressive national heritage. When the economy finally shakes off the pandemic next year, his wealth could rise.

But there’s a growing sense of drift, especially on the legislative agenda, as progressives and moderate Democrats arguing over the composition of the spending plan are getting no closer to an agreement. If the impasse persists well beyond the end of the year, it would hamper Democratic candidates who need a strong record to show to voters in mid-term elections, which are historically brutal for first-term presidents.

And warnings from important legislators – and a new poll from CNN – Propose that even after months of debating, many Americans do not know what is on the massive Biden congressional agenda.

“There is a messaging problem and we keep trying to move it back. What are the elements we are talking about?” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on Wednesday. In an appearance on CNN’s Newsroom, the Washington state Democrat listed measures including universal childcare, affordable housing, hearing and dental services for the elderly, and lower prices on prescription drugs. “The minute you tell someone that’s in there, they say, ‘Oh, that would make a transformative difference for me,'” she said.

New poll has bad news for Democrats

A new CNN / SSRS poll released Wednesday found that only 25% of Americans believe their families will be better off with Biden’s $ 3.5 trillion in welfare bills and a $ 1 trillion infrastructure move would. About 32% said they would be worse off and 43% said they would do the same. Majorities of major constituencies in the democratic coalition – including independent women, blacks, Latinos, and those under 35 – say they will not be affected by these laws.

Biden played an intense role behind the scenes in trying to bring the Democrats together to finally pass extremely ambitious laws to reshape the economy in favor of working Americans. The bipartisan action would repair roads, bridges and transportation systems. The larger proposal, rejected by the GOP and likely scaled back to appease moderate Democrats, would provide universal pre-K, improve home health care for sick and elderly Americans, add Medicare hearing and teeth protection, and reshape the economy, to fight global warming.

The White House often points out that key parts of Biden’s plan, such as expanding health care, upgrading infrastructure, and improving paid vacation and college access, are popular when they are in the spotlight themselves. But so far the go-big approach doesn’t work.

“Most voters couldn’t tell you what’s in these laws,” said Kristen Soltis Anderson, a Republican pollster and strategist, in The Lead with Jake Tapper.

“It’s not because they’re stupid. It’s not because they’re lazy.

In particular, the Democrats’ difficulty in figuring out the purpose of the spending bill has focused the Washington political struggle on total cost. That played into the hands of moderate Democratic senators like Manchin and Sinema. It has also opened an opening to Republicans who are already waging a mid-term election campaign, partly rooted in their claims of runaway “socialist” spending by the Democrats. Because of this, House Spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi stresses that it is time for her party to focus on the contents of the expense report, not the dollar figure.

A bright spot for Biden

Confusion over the programs uncovered by the CNN poll may also reflect voter disinterest in weeks of haggling over the proposals within the Belt. Some Democrats have blamed the media for focusing on the drama of the battle in Congress and pit factions of the party against each other. However, the mainstream media has disseminated a lot of information about the content of the bills. At some point it is up to the political party to pass the bills in order to sell them.

While some observers were shocked at the boldness of the Biden proposals as they were piled together, details were often touted in his 2020 campaign speeches and on his website. So he can argue that he built his presidency on seeing it off. But in order to enforce their priorities, the presidents have to spend the capital they have won in the election campaign and replenish it in office – a much more difficult task.

That month, Biden made this trip to Michigan on October 5 to visit the precinct of the endangered Democratic MP Elissa Slotkin. A later visit to Illinois was mainly to promote vaccine mandates. He has raised the benefits of his White House programming on television events. In a speech on Wednesday, for example, in response to the supply chain crisis that is boosting inflation and hurting the economy, Biden said, “I’m pushing for a one-time investment in our infrastructure and our people with my infrastructure bill and my Build Back Better Act.”

“Those bills would change our ports, there are … billions of dollars for ports, highways, and rail systems that are in desperate need of upgrading and get products from factories to stores to your home faster and more efficiently,” Biden said.

Biden isn’t the first president to be accused of falling short in sales. His former boss, President Barack Obama, faced similar criticism as he struggled to pass the Affordable Care Act, and the Democrats in Congress suffered a bloodbath shortly afterwards. But in the years that followed, this law became more popular as Americans began to experience its role in their lives. Many Democrats believe that something similar could happen to the Biden – if his agenda goes through – and that it will prove so popular that future Republican Congresses will have no choice but to stick with many of its proposals.

There is a notable ray of hope for Biden in the CNN poll. His approval rating is still 50% – higher than some recent polls after a tough summer that marked a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and a furious resurgence of the Delta variant of Covid-19. That’s not good for an incumbent going into a mid-term election year. But it is not catastrophic given the strong divisions in the country. And it suggests the president still has some political juice left to garner support for plans that will define his legacy.