Comes before us now the ultimate test question for the efficacy of an incumbent President.
Are you better off today than you were four years ago?
It is a fair question, though many incumbents do not want to troll such a definitive report card before the electorate.
Gallup, the polling pros, routinely ask this question of registered voters. The results?
July 1984 — 44% say they are better off — Ronald Reagan (re-elected)
October 1992 — 38% say they are better off — George HW Bush (defeated)
October 1994 — 47% say they are better off — Bill Clinton (re-elected)
December 2012 — 45% say they are better off — Barack Obama (re-elected)
September 2020 — 56% say they are better off — Donald Trump
Surprised?
This is a tidbit of news you will likely not see anywhere else.
In the greater scheme of things, what does this mean?
The exact question asked by Gallup in September 2020 was: “I’d like you to compare your situation today with what it was four years ago. Are you better off than you were four years ago, or not?”
Discuss.
I asked Nancy Pelosi to pick a good image of President Donald J Trump and she said, “This is my favorite.”