Heading into the election year, President Biden has a lot of problems, most of them self-inflicted. It's far from clear that his agenda is the biggest issue, as "The Wall Street Journal's" Annie Linskey claims.

President Biden heads into the end of the year with deepening Democratic worries about his re-election, as his effort to aid allies in two wars hangs in the balance on Capitol Hill and an impeachment inquiry into him and his family moves forward. 

At the same time, some rays of hope are peeking through for the incumbent as a tough 2024 contest looms, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching a record high and—perhaps most important from an electoral perspective—consumer confidence rebounding this month faster than expected. 

Still, a round of dismal polls is increasing jitters among Democrats, including some in the West Wing, who are worried that voters’ negative views on the president are going unchallenged. Those Democrats are growing impatient for a full-fledged campaign to start. 

The Biden Administration may try to tout improving economic indicators. Still, Republicans, if they are paying attention (not something we should take for granted), should quickly point out that, as my grandfather was fond of saying, "When you're flat on your back, the only way you can look is up." But the economy, and indeed President Biden's agenda, isn't what is causing their electoral headaches.

In a few days, we'll be in a Presidential election year. The incumbent's increasingly obvious physical and mental decline is already costing him support. Joe Biden's staff is trying to shield him from situations that make things look bad, in effect trying to minimize the President's exposure to, well, anything. 

Add to that the fact that the presumptive Republican challenger, who is seeking to Grover Cleveland himself into a second non-consecutive term, is starting to pull ahead in the polls.

Ms. Linksey continues:

Those with concerns include former President Barack Obama, who “knows this is going to be a close race” and “feels that Democrats very well could lose” the 2024 election, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Obama worries that “the alternative is pretty dangerous for democracy,” the person said.

Oh, baloney. Everyone who hasn't been living under a flat rock for the last eight years knows that Barack Obama is referring to Donald Trump, who isn't dangerous to the republic or even that "democracy" that exists only in the imaginations of liberals. Our republic has withstood a lot in almost two and a half centuries; a revolution, an invasion, a war of secession, a global Great Depression, and two world wars - we can surely survive a second Trump Administration, regardless of the fevered imaginings of the left about Trump somehow leading us into ruin.

If the 2024 race is to be a reboot of 2020, then look to the Biden Administration to try to tout his economic record (hah!) and cast old Joe as the "adult in the room," as opposed, one would think, to the "doddering old man in the room." Add to that the breaking flood of bank records and irregular payments through the Brobdignagian web of shell corporations that make up the Biden family "business," and you have a candidate who is self-destructing. That doesn't seem like a recipe for an electoral win.

Besides, Democrats being their own worst enemies isn't anything shocking or new.