Why OPEC, Putin and Hunter Biden are all harshing Joe’s mellow

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For much of the summer, Democrats have enjoyed an improvement in the polls. The Supreme Court’s Dobbs v Jackson decision overturning Roe v Wade in late June allowed Democrats to overperform in special elections, even winning a special election in Alaska.

And President Joe Biden likely wanted to continue that momentum when he visited Florida on Wednesday in a show of bipartisan solidarity with his would-be Republican rival in 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis. He also probably hoped to do the same thing when he announced a mass pardon of people with “simple possession” marijuana charges and called the War on Drugs a “failed approach” (ironic, given that as the author of the 1994 Crime Bill, then-Senator Biden escalated the War on Drugs).

At the same time, news from the outside world seems to hellbent on trying to kill his buzz. On Wednesday, the nations that produce oil that are part of Opec+ announced they would cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day. Because of the strain that it will likely put on gas prices — which consumers never like — the news will likely put a damper on Democrats’ chances in many elections across the nation. Biden’s approval numbers hit an all-time low this summer when gas prices skyrocketed.

In addition, Patrick De Haan, an analyst at GasBuddy.com, tweeted on Wednesday that while high gas prices will soon drop on the west coast and in the Great Lakes region, Opec+’s decision means prices will likely rise in the Gulf, the southeast, the east coast and the northeast.

That might put Georgia’s Senator Raphael Warnock in a tough spot. And while New Hampshire’s Democratic incumbent Senator Maggie Hassan is polling comfortably, rising prices in the northeast could hurt her, too.

This could also spell trouble for Democratic Senate candidate Cheri Beasley, who is in a dead-heat race against Republican Representative Ted Budd for North Carolina’s open Senate seat. Numerous competitive House races in Virginia, Rhode Island and New York are also now at risk.

In addition, Politico reported that Republicans are already hammering Democrats in California for the high prices, after gas prices rose $2 more than the national average there. That could hurt Democrats in swing races in multiple House races that will potentially decide which party controls the lower chamber.

In addition, on Thursday, The Washington Post reported that federal agents believe they have enough material to charge President Biden’s son, Hunter. Furthermore, the US Attorney in Delaware is a holdover whom former president Donald Trump nominated. While the effects on the election are unclear, it will likely give Republicans something to probe if they win back the House of Representatives, as they are largely expected to do.

As if that weren’t enough, on Thursday evening, at a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, he warned that the world has never been at a greater risk of nuclear “Armageddon” since the Cuban Missile Crisis due to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s saber-rattling.

In fairness, few of these things are within the president’s control. He can fist-bump with Saudi royalty all day long but oil-producing countries will still do what they want. In addition, getting involved with an investigation where his son is involved would be a gross violation of the Justice Department’s independence. Meanwhile, the president can speak to Putin and possibly talk him down, but Putin has shown a willingness to utterly disregard the west’s prodding.

Nevertheless, all three of these events could put the Biden administration’s agenda — not to say his congressional majority — in jeopardy.