SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

AN UNHAPPY NATION – FROM MARKETWATCH:   Concerns about the economy, the pandemic and personal safety are weighing heavily on Americans.  Almost seven in 10 Americans (69%) say things are going “pretty badly” or “very badly” in the U.S., according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS released on Friday, which is up from the 60% who felt that way in March. (This is still lower than the pandemic-era high of 77% just before President Joe Biden took office in January.)   And 74% say that they are at least somewhat angry about the way things are going in the country, with the coronavirus and the economy cited by most respondents as the most important issues facing the nation.  This is even more pessimistic than the RealClearPolitics average of polls measuring the direction of the country, where 61% say America is on the wrong track.  The CNN poll was conducted from Aug. 3 through Sept. 7 — as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan and U.S. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations spiked — among a random national sample of 2,119 adults who were originally contacted by mail, and then questioned by phone or over email. The responses suggest a growing pessimism about the future as the pandemic has continued to take its toll on American lives and livelihoods. Some 62% of respondents say that economic conditions in the U.S. are “poor,” which is up from about 45% in April, and almost as high as the pandemic-era high of 65% in May 2020.   The key item here is belief that economic conditions are poor.  If the upcoming midterm elections follow the usual patterns, the economy will drive the narrative...unless we're faced with some catastrophic international crisis.  If voters think the economy is failing, the Democrats will be calling the moving companies. 

September 12, 2021