Right Track/Wrong Track Question Is Complicated

Amy Walter: “Another long-standing rule in politics is that it’s hard for the incumbent party to win if Americans think the country is ‘headed in the wrong direction.’ However, for the last 10 years a majority of voters have said they think the country is on the wrong track. President Obama won re-election in 2012, despite the fact that the ‘wrong track’ number averaged between 57-65 percent from 2010 to 2012.  Moreover, the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found Obama at 51 percent job approval, even as the wrong direction number jumped 21 points.”

“People are unhappy. But, that doesn’t mean that they are unhappy about the same thing. Or, that they blame the same person/organization/things. This is the tight wire act for Clinton to perform. She needs to acknowledge the anxiety/anger/frustration out there, while also putting forth an agenda that people believe is both appealing and do-able. A ‘we’re all in this together’ message is a tough sell when so many Americans believe that major institutions from Wall Street to government to big business are ‘rigged’ against them.”