When Catherine talked about policy changes in front of the public, she had plenty of confidence. She often used statements like "The congressmen and I will follow up on this" or "I've discussed this issue with Congressman..." to respond.
That kind of dialogue carried a great deal of authority for the public. It was like how parents often told their children, "I've spoken with your teacher." It instinctively made children more inclined to believe them.
People listened carefully to Catherine's words, tried to understand them, and accepted them because what she said was most likely true!
She really could discuss matters with the congressmen and even push through decisions in the end. She had that energy and ability, so people believed she could solve the problems she promised to address! That was also why most presidents' approval ratings generally declined continuously from the election campaign through reelection and retirement.
At first, people trusted them. Surely important figures wouldn't be as unreliable as the street thugs who broke their promises! Although presidents ultimately lost support amid one lie after another that they could no longer cover up, at least they had already become presidents. They no longer cared much about their approval ratings.
Ms. Tracy was different. She wasn't a congresswoman, so she inherently lacked the ability to make decisions on important policies! She couldn't respond to voters' thoughts and suggestions the way Catherine could, by saying something like, "I'll discuss this with the congressmen."
She only had the right to "suggest that the congressmen do certain things," rather than discuss matters with them, negotiate with them, and ultimately push them through.
So she had been standing in a lower position from the very beginning. That was also why Lin Qi said she couldn't win! Looking across the Federation's relatively short