This op-ed by State Policy Network’s Erin Norman was first published at the Washington Examiner.

President Joe Biden gave a televised prime-time speech in Philadelphia last week about democracy and what it takes to protect it. It was an odd topic since the vast majority of voters are concerned not about supposed threats to democracy but about sky-high inflation and record prices , increases in crime , and COVID-19-related shocks to the education system that are still reverberating as a new school year starts. But Biden isn’t looking to reach the general public — he is desperately attempting to rally his base ahead of November.

Political pundits started talking a year ago about how Biden’s disastrous first year in office, marked by soaring inflation and gas prices, a poorly executed withdrawal from Afghanistan, and a failure to deliver any progressive wins to his base, was setting Democrats up for historic losses in the House. But in recent months, Democrats have seen some glimmers of hope, including new energy among supporters in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, a piece of significant legislation in the Inflation Reduction Act, and the attention-grabbing, but legally questionable , cancellation of student loan debt.

Read the full piece at the Washington Examiner here.