In March, the Consumer Price Index, which is a measure of inflation in the economy, hit a four-decade high. This was a stark reminder to Democrats of the political challenges they face as they try to keep their majorities in the House and Senate this fall.

Prices rose 8.5% from March 2021 to March 2022, while they increased 1.2% from February to March. Half of the increase in the CPI was due to rising gas prices in March.

For a long time, Biden’s government thought the CPI number would be bad. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on Monday that “we expect March CPI headline inflation to be extraordinarily high because of Vladimir Putin’s price hike.”

The problem for Biden (and his party) is that it’s not at all clear that people care why everything they are trying to buy costs more. All they know is that gas prices are through the roof — although they are lower this week than last — and everything they want or need to buy costs more (a lot more) than it did a year ago.