With President Biden taking a beating over his handling of escalating crime, the border crisis and even COVID-19, American optimism about the direction of the country has plunged nearly 20 percentage points since late April.

An ABC News/Ipsos poll released on the administration’s six-month anniversary of taking over the White House found that just 45% of Americans are optimistic about where the country is heading over the next year, down from the 64% this past spring. The drop in optimism spanned the political spectrum with a drop of about 20 percentage points among Democrats and Republicans and 26 percentage points among independents.

The administration’s handling - or mishandling - of pressing issues like the growing number of migrants crossing the Southern border, the surge in violent crime and economic issues - like rising food and gas prices - are also major concerns.

Even Biden’s response to the coronavirus, a major factor in his election last fall, has taken a hit. Although 63% of those polled approved of his handling of the pandemic, that still marks a 9-percentage-point drop.

Especially ominous for Democrats hoping to retain control after next year’s midterm elections is the surge in violent crime.

A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll shows concern over crime has reached the highest point in two decades. Fifty-nine percent of Americans now believe crime is an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the nation, an increase from 51 percent in Gallup polling last fall. Although worries about local crime is far lower, it has also surged, with 17 percent saying crime in their area is extremely or very serious, up from 10% last fall.

In June, President Biden’s anti-crime strategy focused on gun crime as part of an effort to stem the rise in homicides. His plan would also allow communities to use coronavirus relief funds to hire police officers or engage in other crime mitigation efforts, though he conceded that “there is no one ... answer that fits everything.”

Biden received negative ratings for how he has handled the issue of crime, according to the poll, with 38 percent approving and 48% disapproving, while 14% offer no opinion.

On the issue of escalating levels of crime rocking America’s largest cities, only 11% of Republicans and 39% of independents approve of Biden’s response to the problem. The numbers are similar for gun violence.

Democrats seeking re-election are not helped when squad members like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley denigrate law enforcement and call for sweeping changes to the criminal justice system.

A year ago Pressley introduced resolution - dubbed “The People’s Justice Guarantee” - which proposed broad reforms ranging from a ban on life sentences without parole to an assault weapons ban, to decriminalizing of prostitution, to reparations for slavery and the repeal of the Hyde Amendment.

While reparations are nearly impossible to determine, the repeal for the Hyde Amendment is more calculable for conservatives since it would direct tax dollars to support abortions in the U.S.

“For far too long, those closest to the pain have not been closest to the power, resulting in a racist, xenophobic, rogue, and fundamentally flawed criminal legal system,” Pressley said in a news release. “Our resolution calls for a bold transformation of the status quo - devoted to dismantling injustices so that the system is smaller, safer, less punitive, and more humane.”

Last week, Pressley’s fellow squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was in Ohio campaigning for congressional candidate Nina Turner, a progressive who co-chaired U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign.

Ocasio-Cortez told the Cleveland crowd: ‘I want to abolish our carceral system that’s designed to trap black and brown men.’

The carceral system refers to its approach to criminal justice and punishment of criminals.

Calvin Coolidge, who, as our 30th president, sought to shrink the regulatory role of the federal government, also left us with some sound wisdom on the rule of law in society.

When the Boston police department attempted to unionize in 1919, Coolidge, then governor of Massachusetts, called in the National Guard to quell a weekend of lawlessness. The future president used the term “law and order” in a speech to ease the resistance movement.

“Laws are not manufactured,” he said. “They are not imposed. They are rules of action existing from everlasting to everlasting. He who resists them, resists himself. He commits suicide. To obey is life. To disobey is death.”

By JIM ZBICK | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.