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       President Biden has in recent weeks begun embracing the term “Bidenomics,” as he begins trying to sell an economic record that has thus far proved a distinct political negative for him.

       There are signs that the sales pitch is getting easier — even as we have yet to see firm evidence that it has aligned with Biden’s political fortunes.

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       This week brought what may be the two best pieces of economic news for Biden since his first year in office. On Wednesday came word that inflation had dropped to its lowest level since March 2021, Biden’s second full month in office. Then on Friday came the much-watched University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, which showed consumer confidence higher than at any point since September 2021. (These two things often correlate.)

       The latter came in way higher than expected, registering the largest single-month increase (13 percent) since 2005. The former means wages have now risen faster than inflation for four straight months.

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       These data come with the appropriate caveats, including that they are a snapshot in time. Inflation isn’t falling at a very consistent clip month over month, for example, leading the Federal Reserve to remain cautious that its interest-rate decisions have truly paid off. And we continue to live in unusual economic times, when the rules often haven’t applied.

       But the data does lead to the obvious question about whether this could recast views of Biden, given the long-standing preeminence of the economy in voters’ minds. If inflation, in particular, continues to be alleviated, that could erase perhaps Biden’s most significant electoral liability in a 2024 race in which he was already polling competitively with former president Donald Trump.

       The short answer is that we don’t have a lot of great data on Biden and the economy from this month. But the most recent measures suggest that views of his economic stewardship have recovered somewhat, and that the news we’re seeing should be particularly heartening for him.

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       A Fox News poll from late June showed Biden’s approval on the economy 22 points underwater — that is, with negative views (60 percent) outpacing positive ones (38 percent). That’s hardly strong territory, but the split was Biden’s best since early 2022.

       The most recent polling we have on Biden and the economy comes from the Economist and YouGov. Early this week it showed Biden a smaller 10 points underwater on “jobs and the economy,” with 41 percent approving of him and 51 percent disapproving. Notably, these numbers were tied for his best out of eight issues tested.

       A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week about what matters most to Americans gets at why the second poll looks better for Biden than the first. It’s because the second poll invoked “jobs” — which remains a very strong point for Biden’s economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in decades. The poll showed Biden just six points underwater on “employment and jobs,” but 25 points underwater on the “economy.”

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       That Ipsos poll also reinforced how dropping inflation and rising consumer sentiment could make a huge difference for Biden. Biden was a further 34 points underwater on “inflation and rising prices.” He was also 32 points underwater on inflation in the YouGov poll.

       In other words: The reason for negative views of Biden’s economy is clear, and it’s inflation. (The YouGov poll also shows 57 percent of Americans saying their best economic indicator is the prices of goods and services they consume, far more than the unemployment rate or the stock market.)

       To the extent inflation is no longer seen as such a negative and consumers are more confident, it’s quite likely that views of Biden and the economy could quickly improve, as people judge it more on his jobs record.

       Which is a big if. It’s also possible that inflation declines but doesn’t drop enough for people to truly feel great about the economy, after months and months of rising prices.

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       There’s little question that this is suddenly emerging as a major subplot as the 2024 campaign kicks into gear. Democrats did historically well in the 2022 midterms even with inflation clearly dogging their side. That was in large part thanks to voters apparently being unsure about the alternative — a Trump-led Republican Party — which will apparently be the alternative again in 2024.

       If that inflation liability is mitigated to a significant extent, Democrats will suddenly feel much better about their chances. And that’s particularly important when many in their party have quietly fretted about Biden’s ability to carry the ball forward.

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