Dem
47
GOP
53
We doubt that the OED will choose "affordability" as the word of the year, but in the political world, affordability certainly is worthy of the honor. The midterms may well hinge on which party does a better job of convincing the voters that it can handle prices better than the other party.
For many voters, the key to affordability is the price of gas, which currently averages $4.07/gal. nationally. The voters don't like that one bit. And a new Reuters/Ipsos poll puts the blame for high gas prices squarely in Donald Trump's lap:
A full 77% of registered voters put the blame on Donald Trump on account of his decision to go to war with Iran. Not surprisingly, 95% of Democrats blame Trump, but also 82% of independents and even 55% of Republicans. Also important is that 78% of voters say gas prices are a big concern. Fewer Republicans say it is a concern than Democrats, but that could be their way of getting Trump off the hook rather than actually being less interested.
In addition, the poll showed that 58% of the voters, including two-thirds of independents, do not want to support a candidate who supports Trump's approach to handling Iran. And the longer the war goes on, the higher this number will be. (V)