Seven fifteen is not the time. It's the price for a gallon of high-test in California. They even advertise it. Forget spending a hundred dollars to top off the tank. You'll need more.
"Who's going to win the midterm?" my friend asks from the back seat. I look out the window. Another gas station. Same price.
Does the Donald Trump of it all — the election deniers, the Jan. 6 hearings, the challenge to democracy — offset the $7.15 a gallon at the pump?
Conventional wisdom says the party in power loses in the midterm, and loses badly if the economy is in trouble. At a time when almost every conversation gets around, sooner or later, to a discussion of how expensive everything has gotten, will voters put aside those concerns?
Maybe. The primaries and special elections to date have shown women registering and voting on the abortion issue. Kansas is the clearest example of this, but not the only one. In key battleground states in the fall, abortion will be one of the big issues separating Democrats and Republicans.
Trump will be the other key issue dividing Republicans and Democrats in key states. Too many Republican nominees won their places on the ticket by denying the results of the last election. Too many Republican nominees have been unwilling to stand up against the extraordinary violence on Jan. 6 that was a direct attack on the democratic process.
Unlike the price of gas, these are issues within the direct control, or at least the influence, of the candidates.
Are you for or against Roe v. Wade?
Did you support the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol and all that followed?
If, like most Americans, you support Roe, will you support a candidate who opposes it?
If, like most Americans, you oppose what went on at the Capitol on Jan. 6, will you support a candidate who refuses to condemn that conduct?
Gas prices are an easy excuse to vote Republican. But, really, does anyone honestly think the price of gas would be cheaper if Trump were president? How is it that Joe Biden or the Democrats in Congress have control over what OPEC decides to do, much less the consequences of the Russian war against Ukraine?
I have a new game for people who tell me they are "disappointed" with Biden. I ask for specifics: Exactly what has he done that he shouldn't have done? Exactly what should he do that he hasn't done?
It's a showstopper.
It's easy to criticize Biden by saying he's old. So, what. Has he done anything that a younger Biden would not do? I think not.
It's easy to criticize Biden by saying he's not as "engaged" as Trump was. He doesn't tweet every day, or at least say things that get our attention. So, what.
What's hard is coming up with what Biden should have done or should do now. I wish I had the answer. The truth is, there might not be one.
Susan Estrich is a politician, professor, lawyer and writer. Whether on the pages of newspapers such as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post or as a television commentator on countless news programs on CNN, Fox News, NBC, ABC, CBS and NBC, she has tackled legal matters, women's concerns, national politics and social issues. Read Susan Estrich's Reports — More Here.