R&R: Election anxiety
What I’m reading and watching
Welcome back to R&R, a private email for paid subscribers recapping the week that was and recommending my favorite things I read and watched this week.
In case you thought it wasn’t possible for this election to get any closer, it just did.
As I write this, Kamala Harris’ advantage in the RealClearPolitics national polling average has tightened to 0.9 percentage points, half of her 2.1-point lead a month ago.
In the critical battleground states, the margins are even smaller. Arizona: Trump +2.1. Georgia: Trump +2. North Carolina: Trump +0.9. Pennsylvania: Harris +0.1. Nevada: Harris +0.4. Michigan: Harris +0.5. Wisconsin: Dead even.
It’s been several cycles since a presidential election has been polling this close for this long, and it seems to be driving people across the political spectrum (and the world) into a state of anxiety. According to the New York Times, the uncertainty of who will be in charge next year has led to an “election shopping slump,” with fewer people making big purchases. “There is a deer-in-the-headlights attitude,” a New York City real estate broker explained.
Per the Associated Press, federal judges are warning about political violence. Per the Washington Post, anxiety in Europe is riding high as well — about the U.S. election. In a recent Forbes poll, 61% of Americans said their mental health has been negatively impacted by the presidential race.
I won’t pretend like I have any special words of wisdom to quell that anxiety. (I liked James Carville’s line in an NBC News article, recounting being besieged by anxious New Yorkers asking him to tell them how the election would turn out. “They firmly believed that I had some kind of secret knowledge,” Carville said. “It’s the hardest thing in the world to tell someone who thinks you’re omnipotent that you’re really not.”)
But, as the election creeps closer, I’ve been increasingly appreciating news outlets trying to model polite disagreement — something hard to find at the height of a campaign season. My first two recommendations this morning did just that: