Amid scandals that threaten to disrupt his second term, President Barack Obama’s approval rating has proven durable as economic optimism grows, according to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll released Tuesday.
Fifty-five percent of Americans said that the Obama administration deliberately covered up facts related to September attack in Benghazi, Libya while a mere third think the White House has honestly disclosed what it knows about the incident.
Moreover, 74 percent said the Internal Revenue Service acted inappropriately when it targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny and 56 percent said that the targeting amounted to deliberate harassment rather than an administrative mistake.
But Obama’s approval rating stands at 51 percent, a modest 1-point uptick since last month’s ABC/WaPo survey. Forty-four percent said they disapprove, down a point from last month. The President likely benefitted from a rosier economic outlook. Fifty-six percent said they believe the economy has begun to recover, up three points from March. Obama’s job approval on the economy — 48 percent — jumped four points since last month’s ABC/WaPo poll.
A CNN/ORC International poll released on Sunday also showed that, despite growing skepticism toward the IRS and Benghazi, Obama had not yet paid a political price for the controversies.
