In the circumstances, the numbers could hardly look much better. A year or two ago, the conventional wisdom was that America was facing a terrific recession. Instead, according to the latest data from the International Monetary Fund, the US has outperformed pretty much every other major economy in the world . In its latest World Economic Outlook report - the most closely-watched set of international forecasts - it upgraded the US more than nearly every other major economy.
So why, then, is consumer confidence so weak? Why are Biden's approval ratings - the key polling benchmark for the US leader - lower than pretty much any of his predecessors at this stage in their terms? Travel around Pennsylvania, as we have done over the past few days, and you encounter all sorts of explanations.