Joe Biden is not closing out 2023 on a high note. Democrats are in a panic over dismal poll numbers and a genuine lack of enthusiasm for Biden’s re-election. The vast majority of voters want a different choice than Biden and Trump. Yet, that is where we are headed.

Barack Obama is the latest prominent Democrat to weigh in with reservations about Biden’s chances for re-election.

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.

Biden is currently over a barrel, unable to get Congress to sign off on his mega foreign aid package that includes aid to Ukraine, and Israel, and assistance for border security. Democrats are refusing to agree to border security measures. Republicans, for once, are holding their ground. There is no better time than now to make demands to secure the southern border, using aid to Ukraine and Israel as leverage.

There is the added drama of Hunter Biden’s legal problems that rope in his father to his criminal activities. The cherry on top was the vote in the House that began an impeachment inquiry on Biden.

The Biden administration wants voters to believe that recent numbers on the economy are going in a positive direction. Regular Americans know that that may be true on paper but in everyday life, nothing has changed. The basic costs of living are still up due to Biden’s crazy federal spending and his refusal to stop spending on anything and everything that he thinks might help him get re-elected.

While Biden and other Democrats are criticizing Trump’s remark that he will be a dictator on Day One and then not be, read this tweet and tell me if it doesn’t sound a little dictator-ish to you.

"While the Supreme Court has blocked Biden's signature student loan forgiveness plan, the admin has managed to dole out almost $132B for more than 3.6M borrowers – and has signaled there's more to come."

Imagine the reaction from Democrats and the media if the Trump admin had…

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) December 17, 2023

The president is ignoring the Supreme Court and going his own way. Who is the threat to democracy?

Polling continues to go in Trump’s direction, both national and state polls. There is plenty of time for that to change but for now, Trump has momentum in a repeat match-up with Biden.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll this week – like many other polls over the past month – found Donald Trump in the lead.

Even more worrisome for Democrats, the poll shows independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. takes votes away from Biden and 60 percent of voters say they want another option when it comes to the 2024 presidential race.

But the looming election rematch next year between Biden and Trump would be closely fought with both candidates saddled with profound vulnerabilities that could cost them the White House.

Joe Biden is not particularly well-served by his staff. He ran as a man who would unify the country. He has done the exact opposite.

Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said the president was hard at work on issues of national security, such as supporting Israel in its fight against Hamas and strengthening border security.

He said Biden was working, ‘even if House Republicans find it so hard to keep up that they’re already on vacation.’

No one thinks Joe Biden is working hard on anything. His people around him run the show. And Bates should check himself on the vacation digs. Joe Biden has taken more time off than any other president – he’s at 40% time off during his term. That doesn’t signal a hard-working president.

One area that Republicans will have a hard time with in 2024 is abortion. The issue was a winner for Democrats in 2022 and will be again in 2024. Republicans who settle at a 15-16 week ban on abortion are in step with the majority of American voters. That is why you see Trump settling there as he campaigns against Republicans who support heartbeat bills, like DeSantis.

Of Biden, as recently as 2020, Obama reminded voters to not “underestimate his ability to “f**k things up.”

Look for Obama to hit the campaign trail a little later in the season. All hands are on deck for Biden and ready to campaign for him.