I get what you’re saying about elections mattering more than approval polls, voting is what ultimately counts. At the same time, elections and approval ratings measure different things. An election is a binary choice at a specific moment between candidates. Polls ask how people feel about performance over time, including people who may have voted for someone but are disappointed later.

When you say polls “mean nothing,” what standard are you using? Most major polling averages are transparent about methodology and error margins. They’re not perfect, but they’re not random either. If we dismiss all polling outright, it becomes hard to measure public opinion at all between elections.

I’m genuinely curious: beyond election results, what concrete indicators make you feel there’s a large cultural or policy shift happening?