Obama Approval Rating Remains Steady Despite Scandals

President Obama has seen his approval rating survive a string of recent scandals, apparently withstanding what is being called the worst week in his presidency.

Obama has been hit by Republicans for a trio of scandals including his administration’s handling of the September terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya that left four Americans dead. Republicans have attacked the president’s administration for not providing enough security for Benghazi and for misleading the public in the aftermath.

Obama has also taken a hit from an IRS scandal in which right-leaning tea party groups were singled out for extra scrutiny. The IRS took action against groups applying for tax exemption, subjecting them to undue audits and other measures.

Another scandal came to light when it was also revealed this week that the Justice Department subpoenaed phone records from the Associated Press.

Despite the difficulties, Obama’s approval rating has remained high. A CNN/ORC International survey released Sunday morning shows that 53 percent of Americans approve of the job the president is doing while 45 percent disapprove.

Obama actually saw his approval rating increase from the last CNN poll, conducted in early April. He had the support of 51 percent of respondents in the previous poll. But the increase was so slight that pollsters warned about reading too much into it.

“That two-point difference is well within the poll’s sampling error, so it is a mistake to characterize it as a gain for the president,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “Nonetheless, an approval rating that has not dropped and remains over 50% will probably be taken as good news by Democrats after the events of the last week.”

While Obama saw his approval rating remain steady, Americans did seem upset with the scandals. The poll found that 71 percent of Americans believe the IRS actions against tea party groups was unacceptable, though close to 60 percent said they trusted Obama on the issue.