A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll showed some surprisingly good news for President Biden. The December 10th, 2021 version of that poll showed that Biden’s recent slump  in approval polling appears to be reversing, and that his approval and disapproval rating have converged at 48%, an improvement from other recent polling. You wouldn’t know that though from the story that appeared on the ABC News website, which bore the headline “President Biden’s job approval sinking on inflation, crime and COVID: POLL” and made absolutely no mention of the increase in Biden’s overall approval.  Instead focused obsessively on alternate measures of approval that painted a less promising picture.

That article, offered these measures: “More than two-thirds of Americans (69%) disapprove of how Biden is handling inflation (only 28% approve) while more than half (57%) disapprove of his handling of the economic recovery. Partisan splits for inflation show expected negativity in Republican views (94% disapproving), but the survey also reveals weaknesses from Biden’s own party with only a slim majority of Democrats (54%) approving. Biden’s orbit is also hemorrhaging independent voters, with 71% disapproving of his handling of inflation.”

It’s clear that maintsream media outlets, like Facebook, crave a “conflict driven engagement” business model, and are upset that Biden’s calm governing style hasn’t produced the huge daily ratings that Trump’s ape-like shit-flinging provided. We’re at a point in this country where the increasingly anti-Democratic tendencies of the Republican Party, and the profit-driven desire of media outlets to have a daily buffet of daily outrage that requires no journalistic effort other than to hold forth with irate pontifications and hyperventilation, is threatening American Democracy.