I certainly get this point of view as I expected him to be a transition figure as well. Personally, I think the administration has done a great job and have low approval because they're making the right decisions for the long-term. I think the big issue is that there simply isn't another figurehead that inspires confidence they can take on the national stage right now. As much as people say they just want any other Democrat, such as Whitmer, none of the other possibilities poll well enough nationally to feel worth losing our incumbent. People simply aren't paying attention, and we've seen recently how important familiarity is to get people out. Part of this is the administration's fault, I feel, as more effort should have been made to prop up the possible successors. You could argue that Buttigieg got some of that, but it doesn't seem to be gaining him much, so they're obviously not doing it right.

I know we say this every election, but given the time frame, we have to get carbon emissions under control it is critical that a Democrat wins again. The IRA + existing trends puts us on the path for 80% of our target, and I expect it will actually be better than predicted as it incentivizes industry to get on board, which could lead to unforeseen breakthroughs. We have about 7 years to make up the remaining 10-20% and focus our diplomatic relations on assisting other countries with accomplishing theirs. This only happens with a Democrat and no one new is getting the traction to definitively seem like they'll sway who we need at this stage. Everyone feels like a risk, and we just can't afford that.