What do polls mean anyway?

Friends,

Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. This morning we examine:

— The awful polls showing Donald Trump running neck-and-neck with Joe Biden. How is that possible? Should we be concerned?

— Biden as much more progressive than Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. Why don’t people see this? Why do young people think Biden is more conservative than Clinton and Obama?

— Elon Musk’s extraordinary unaccountable power to determine who has access to his satellites, in the war between Ukraine and Russia. How in hell did the State Department and the Defense Department ever allow Musk to accumulate this sort of power?

— Weekend plans: Bob is heading to a wedding this afternoon, and Heather is heading to a fundraiser at a state park with a woman friend. Is it harder to find new friends later in life? Are women better at maintaining friends than men? A final action item!

Thank you once again to the composers of our Saturday Coffee Klatch theme songs, Corey Kaup / Deirdre Broderick and Joseph Lawson, respectively.

Please pull up a chair, grab a mug, and join in the conversation. And also, if you wish, take our poll:

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe