Aug. 18, 2021: Bidens approval rating drops below 50
President Joe Biden's average approval rating is below 50% for the first time this year. 538: 49.8% \u2026 RCP: 49.4%\nThe dip has been driven by a slow erosion among independents that seems tied to the Delta surge and predates the problems in Afghanistan.\nIt also may be inevitable. FiveThirtyEight\u2019s Geoffrey Skelley: \u201cWe don\u2019t know the range in which Biden\u2019s approval will ultimately settle, but if the past two presidents are any indication, it\u2019ll be a narrow one: Donald Trump\u2019s approval mostly hovered between 40 and 45 percent during his presidency, while Barack Obama\u2019s approval tended to fall between 45 and 50 percent.\u201d\nAnd, in the coming days we\u2019re going to be picking out the most consequential proposals in the infrastructure plan and digging into the politics of these policies. But first we want to hear from you. What policies do you most want to see unpacked? What are the political crosscurrents that you\u2019re witnessing from your perch at, say, a House committee, Cabinet agency or outside interest group? What policies are the most vulnerable and unlikely to survive the sausage-making process? What are the hidden land mines in Build Back Better?\nSend us your scoops, insights, requests and tips at playbook@politico.com. We\u2019ll keep it all confidential, and it will help us cover this unprecedented period of legislating in Washington.\nRaghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio.\xa0Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.