Here’s why it’s so hard to be a Democrat: You spend all your time fighting for long-range solutions to fix protracted problems, but most voters want quick fixes for their immediate problems.

Barack Obama caught grief for pushing health care reform while, during the Great Recession, the public worried about jobs. Jimmy Carter obsessed over energy independence while, during the “stagflation” crisis, the public worried about inflation as well as economic growth.

Following the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, President Joe Biden is trying to pass the Build Back Better legislation. The sweeping package includes funding for clean energy, health care, housing, universal preschool, higher education, child care, and elder care. It’s funded by progressive tax reform. But once again, the economy is on the public’s mind and getting in a Democrat’s way: supply chain disruptions, understaffed businesses struggling to attract workers, and, once again, inflation…

With inflation, the fire chief is less the president than the Federal Reserve, which can tamp down inflation with higher interest rates that cut down on borrowing and tighten the money supply. The downside risk with raising rates too high is triggering a recession. So even though the Federal Reserve is independent, presidents have a tendency to lean on the Fed chair to keep rates low.