A new piece in the New York Times on Friday lamented that while a number of conditions related to the economy and COVID-19 appear to be improving, President Joe Biden's approval rating remains stubbornly under water with no signs of being lifted by the rising tide.

Inflation, gas prices and COVID-deaths are all coming down, they argued, while wages, consumer confidence and the stock market are going up.

Despite these positive indicators, however, Biden's approval rating remained at 39% in the latest Times polling. Biden's polling average is about on par with Jimmy Carter's polling in 1979, and we know how that turned out.

He's neck and neck with former President Donald Trump even after three indictments, the Times pointed out. That's pretty depressing for him.

What the Times wants to know, along with all Democrats, is whether Biden's numbers will come up as more people realize things are getting better, or if people are just done with Biden because of his dementia-like presentation, his former blunders, and his age.

Trendlines halting, but positive?

“Even though Biden’s numbers aren’t great, their trendlines, albeit halting, are positive, and we’ll see if they have a soft landing,” Clinton White House counsel and now-analyst Douglas B. Sosnik said. “I feel like Biden has plenty of time to get the arrows in the right direction the way that Obama did and Clinton did and Reagan did.”

Sosnik is saying what Democrats want to believe, but that doesn't make it true.

In fact, gas prices have spiked 29 cents in the last month, although they are still down 34 cents from a year ago. With OPEC cutting production despite Biden's pleas not to do so, it's hard to tell which direction they will go at this point.

Economic growth was said to have been 2.4% last quarter, but those numbers are often influenced or rigged to show whatever outcome favors the politicians the deep state likes (always Democrats of course). Watching to see whether the number is revised in the near future is a better indicator of what's actually going on.

No historical precedent

There are many factors that could influence voters in the upcoming election cycle, including several that have no historical precedent.

Biden's age and seeming mental decline are one such factor. Voters want their president to be at the top of his game mentally and healthy physically, and Biden seems neither, no matter what his physician claims.

Biden may also be facing allegations that he took bribes from foreign nationals along with several other members of his family. The press has been pretty good at covering up the investigation, but Republicans have bank records and damaging witness testimony that doesn't look like it's going away any time soon.

And then there are the Trump indictments, which could certainly wear on voters over time if Trump becomes the nominee and make them question whether Trump could even fulfill his duties if convicted of a crime, as well as whether he should.

Not honest

There's no way to reliably predict how the election would turn out because so many things are happening that have never happened before in an election.

And if Democrats or Republicans try to tell you otherwise, they're not being a bit honest.