Coming out of the weekend, after a brutal week for their president, the media held tight to a little lifeboat in an ocean of bad news: Polls from CNN and The Washington Post had Obama’s approval rating at 53% and 50%, respectively. But Monday was a lifetime and countless revelations ago, and today, four newer polls all show Obama’s approval rating sinking below 50%.
Fox News has Obama upside down with 45% approving of the president and 51% disapproving. Rasmussen shows a similar trend with 46% – 53%; as does The Economist, 45% – 51%. Gallup sits at 49% – 44%.
The Real Clear Politics poll of polls shows Obama barely above water at 48.1% – 48.0%.
A week ago, Obama sat at 49.0% – 46.5%.
We won’t know for sure if this is statistical noise or if the combined scandals swirling and expanding around Libya, the IRS and the Justice Department seizing reporter’s phone records and emails are finally taking a toll.
A deep dive into The Washington Post poll might give us a clue. According to the Post, Obama’s lies about Benghazi are finally– despite the best efforts of the media — catching up to Obama, even among Democrats:
Fully 55 percent say the Obama administration is trying to hide the facts, while just 33 percent say it has honestly disclosed what it knows of the incident. It’s not just Republicans crying foul: Six in 10 independents and nearly three in 10 Democrats say the administration is not being forthright.
Events unfurling this week are unlikely to boost Obama’s approval ratings in polls sure to be released next week. Americans are just now learning that the Justice Department singled out Fox News’ reporter James Rosen for an outrageous investigation that included his emails, phone records, and his parents’ phone records. Moreover, the ongoing controversy surrounding exactly when the White House knew about the IRS scandal has already put the administration on defense all week.
Essentially, Obama has triangulated himself into a corner. He can either come off as corrupt, inept, or clueless about what is happening in his own government.
Monday, political analyst Charlie Cook argued that those polls released Monday showing Obama’s approval sticking at 50% and higher were a warning sign that the GOP might be blinded by their bubbled partisanship in pursuit of these scandals.
But like I said, Monday was a lifetime, countless revelations, and four whole polls ago.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC