It was probably the smartest decision to make politically for the Democrats to keep President Biden from participating in the annual presidential Super Bowl interview last night.
Historically, the sitting president has been interviewed by a news anchor representing whatever network was carrying the NFL's championship game. While those exchanges have been contentious at times, they are usually a friendly interview full of questions that have undoubtedly been pre-screened by the White House.
That might have seemed like a good opportunity for President Biden, who is facing increased questions about his mental fitness for office. Just days ago, NBC reported that 76% of voters have serious concerns about Biden, "not having the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term." This isn't an issue that the president can hide from for the next 9 months, so you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a huge, missed opportunity on Super Bowl night for the Biden administration.
But following the disastrous few days Biden had last week, where a special counsel revealed that he was (to paraphrase), "too old and senile to stand trial for crimes he obviously committed," only to be followed up by Biden trying to castigate that report by voluntarily holding a press conference where he appeared too old and senile to lead a country, I'm actually convinced his team made the right call politically.
…Except, that is, for the decision to replace the interview with this scripted short, released on X and other social media platforms:
It wasn't cute. It wasn't funny. It wasn't endearing. It was awkward and misleading. It once again demonstrated a president who is unwilling to own up to a backwards economic agenda that has stymied any type of prosperity or sustained growth. The problem isn't greedy corporations. The problem is government policy.
I don't moonlight as an economist, but I know the basics. Two key numbers to keep in mind when evaluating the president's "It's not me, it's them" routine is the "Producer Price Index" and the "Consumer Price Index."
- The first number tells you how much businesses (producers) are spending for their products and services. In other words, how much Frito Lay is paying for all their ingredients, packaging, shipping, etc.
- The second number tells you how much families (consumers) are spending at the store when they go to buy what those businesses have produced.
Since President Biden took office, that first number has risen 17.5%. That means producers in the marketplace - the companies and businesses making the consumables that we purchase - have seen their costs of making products raise 17.5% over what they had been in the Trump years. That second number has risen 17.1%. To be sure, an over 17% hike in inflation on citizens and families represents inexcusable economic leadership.
But make sure to note that according to the actual numbers, businesses are actually protecting consumers from an additional .4% increase in their out-of-pocket expenses in an effort to maintain their customer base in these tough economic times. Perhaps that sacrifice explains why the Biden administration's own numbers reveal that corporate profits have fallen consistently for six straight quarters.
Imagine the arrogance it takes to film a video short for social media that refuses to take any responsibility for your own failed economic policy, but instead blames and wags the finger at businesses who themselves are victims of it, and who are actually shouldering a greater share of the burden in order to protect the people you're pandering to. That's the current administration in D.C.
