Despite the spate of scandals hitting the Obama administration, a new CNN/ORC poll shows that the American people still largely approve of President Obama. His personal approval ratings remain solid at 53 percent, with just 45 percent disapproving. That’s actually up two points since April.
While a full 71 percent of Americans agree that the IRS’ targeting of conservative non-profit groups represents “unacceptable” action, just 35 percent of Americans think the Obama administration is fibbing about its level of involvement in the scandal. Sixty-one percent say they think Obama has characterized the scandals accurately, and 55 percent say the IRS acted on its own.
The numbers aren’t quite so rosy for the administration with regard to Benghazi, where 53 percent of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the White House’s actions and explanations. A full 59 percent of Americans say that the government could have done more to stop the terrorist attacks, and the same number of Americans believe that the Republicans in Congress are justified in their investigations.
A bare majority of Americans, 52 percent, believe that the administration should not have seized the Associated Press’ phone records, although 43 percent said it was acceptable for the Department of Justice to do so.