Axelrod: Biden 'pride' may cost him election

[Sympthsical]

40. Telling hungry people "Yes, but the GDP reports are good!" is out of touch

And incredibly counterproductive. Not sure how many times in how many different ways I can explain this.

The economy looks great on paper. But it is experienced much differently in homes.

You can't tell people they're not experiencing what they're experiencing. They won't vote for you. That just opens a door for demagogues. Because give a demagogue some credit - they'll play to what people are feeling.

The costs of living have been going up, up, up for people.

Yes, I know what all the reports say, all the headlines and sound bites and op-eds. But they are written by people who are not experiencing this. So while they think, "Everything's great!" they do not see and cannot perceive the people on the lower rungs.

I can't figure out where the problem is. Is it that the media are out of touch? Which they are. They talk about the economically disadvantaged like they're remaking Gorillas in the Mist, and they've just entered the jungle of poverty to see how the natives behave in their natural habitat. Or is it the political consultants who are so insulated and data driven that they just stopped talking to actual people?

There's a disconnect here, and I desperately wish it would get recognized and fixed sooner rather than later. I've been banging this drum for two years and hoping it would change. But no. It really does seem like we're going into the election with this. Lord help us.