What is the “most important problem” facing the country today? That’s a question that Gallup regularly asks Americans and the most recent edition of that survey just dropped this week. You might imagine that crime, inflation, high prices, or the border crisis would be at the top of the list. To be sure, plenty of people cited those issues. But the number one problem on the list was “The Government/Poor Leadership.” More than one in five people (21%) chose that answer, a notable increase from the same survey conducted a few months earlier. So Joe Biden’s presidency continues to set new records, though not in the way anyone was hoping.

More Americans name the government as the nation’s top problem in Gallup’s latest poll, which encompassed the rocky start of the 118^th Congress’ term. With high prices persisting, inflation remains the second most-cited problem (15%), and amid elevated tensions about the southern U.S. border, illegal immigration edged up three percentage points to 11%. Mentions of the economy in general fell six points, to 10%, the lowest reading in a year.

The poll’s Jan. 2-22 field period included the four-day, 15-vote process in which Republicans, who now hold a slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, ultimately elected Kevin McCarthy to be Speaker of the House. Revelations about classified government documents from 2009 to 2017 found in President Joe Biden’s private office and home also surfaced while the poll was in the field.

The  four issues receiving double-digit mentions were the government, inflation, immigration, and “the economy in general.” You probably won’t be surprised to learn which issues fell much further down the list. Racism and homelessness were cited by five percent of respondents each. Crime and “ethical/moral/family decline” each received four percent.

If you look at page 6 of the crosstabs, you can view the full range of choices that were offered in terms of people’s priorities when it comes to addressing problems. The bottom of the list is quite revealing. The situation with Russia (and presumably Ukraine) was cited by one percent. Guns and gun control were similarly selected by a single percent. Election reform garnered two percent, while climate change received three percent.

Then we come to a collection that includes the coronavirus, police brutality, LGBT rights, China, and Afghanistan. What do they all have in common? They scored zero. Zilch. Nada. Nobody listed any of those issues at or near the top of their list of priorities.

All of this says quite a bit about the current state of the country. We have a lot of people in charge of the government and the vast majority of the media voters consume who clearly believe that the most pressing issues in America involve making sure that boys have access to the girls’ showers or taking away your guns and your gasoline-powered cars. But in reality, those things are the priorities of only a tiny, but highly vocal minority of rabble-rousers. Virtually nobody feels that “saving Ukraine” is a priority while more than ten percent were most worried about the flood of illegal aliens coming in over our southern border. But what is the White House prioritizing? The exact opposite.

And yet, last November a majority of people decided to send the same clown car occupants back to Washington to maintain control. And the legacy media continues to cheer them on. It’s enough to make you want to scream.