Obama's Approval Rating Unmoved By Recent Controversies, Remains Over 50%, According to CNN

Obama's approval rating remains over 50% despite recent controversies, according to a recent poll from CNN and ORC International that was released on Sunday.

This poll is 'one of the earliest indicators of how Obama's image has been affected during one of the worst weeks of his presidency,' writes the Washington Post.  The poll was conducted on Friday and Saturday and followed a similar Gallup poll that was conducted last week.  The poll was given to a group of 923 adults nationwide by telephone and it's sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points , CNN reports.

The three big recent controversies are Benghazi, the seizure of Associated Press phone records by the Justice Department and the IRS's targeting of conservative groups,USA Today reports.  Despite these recent concerns, the poll suggests that Obama's approval rating has actually increased to 53% from 51% in early April.  The polling results are in line with Gallup, which also indicates that there has been a slight increase in Obama's approval rating lately,CNN reports

However, "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," Keating Holland, the Polling Direcor ofCNN said.  "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."  Both the CNN and Gallup polls fall within a sampling error range, CNN reports.

While Obama's approval rating seems virtually untouched, the CNN poll also suggests that a majority of Americans take the three controversial issues seriously that have plagued the presidency in recent weeks, CNN reports.  More than seven in ten people said that the IRS's targeting of tea party and other conservative groups, which were applying for tax exempt status, was unacceptable.  However, more than six in ten people say that they believe the President's statements about the IRS scandal contain a certain degree of truth.

Meanwhile, only 42% of the public says that they are satisfied with how the Obama administration handled the September attack in Benghazi, Libya, which left the U.S ambassador  in the countermand three other Americans dead, CNN reports.  53% of people said they were dissatisfied with the actions.

As for the Justice Department's secret collection of phone records from the Associated Press, 52% of people say the Justice Department's actions were unacceptable, while 43% of people say that they disagree, CNN reports.  55% of people say that the issues with the IRS and Benghazi are very important to the nation while 53% believe that about the Associated Press case.

"More Republicans than Democrats or Independents say these three issues are very important to the nation, but even among Democrats, nearly half say the matters are very serious," Holland said, according to CNN.

The survey suggested that only 43% people say they have some, or a great deal of confidence in the people who run the federal government and 56% say they have a great deal of, or some confidence in the system of government, CNN reports.

Over the past year, CNN/ORC polls have suggested the Obama's approval rating fluctuates between 47 and 55 percent, but usually remains about 50, the Epoch Times reports.

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