CNN Poll: Despite the Political Profligacy of the Obama Administration, His Approval Rating Increases from 51% Last Week to 53% This Week... Or Did It?

The liberal mass media -- the one that the Obama administration is oppressing -- still has not learned its lesson about not trusting the government.  Take for instance the current CNN Poll regarding the president's approval rating.  This is very interesting:

May 19, 2013 12 hours ago

9 hours ago

CNN Poll: Controversies hurting Obama? Has GOP overreacted?

Posted by

CNN Political Unit

Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama comes out of what was arguably the worst week of his presidency with his approval rating holding steady, according to a new national poll.

But a CNN/ORC International survey released Sunday morning also indicates that congressional Republicans are not overplaying their hand when it comes to their reaction to the three controversies that have consumed the nation's capital over the past week and a half. And the poll finds that a majority of Americans take all three issues seriously.

According to the survey, which was conducted Friday and Saturday, 53% of Americans say they approve of the job the president is doing, with 45% saying they disapprove. The president's approval rating was at 51% in CNN's last poll, which was conducted in early April.

"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."

The CNN poll is in-line with Gallup, which also indicated a very slight rise in Obama's approval rating over the same time period. And Gallup's daily tracking poll also indicated a slight upward movement of Obama's approval rating over the past week. But as with the CNN poll, it was within that survey's sampling error.

More than seven in 10 in the CNN poll say that the targeting by the Internal Revenue Service of tea party and other conservative groups that were applying for tax exempt status was unacceptable. While the White House and both parties in Congress are criticizing the IRS actions, congressional Republicans are depicting the controversy as a case of the federal government gone wild.

But more than six in 10 say that the president's statements about the IRS scandal are completely or mostly true, with 35% not agreeing with Obama's characterizations. And 55% say that IRS acted on its own, with 37% saying that White House ordered the IRS to target tea party and other conservative groups.

Only 42% of the public is satisfied with how the Obama administration has handled the September attack in Benghazi, Libya, which left the U.S ambassador to that country and three other Americans dead. Fifty-three percent say they are dissatisfied. But those numbers are virtually unchanged from November.

Republicans have ripped the administration for not providing adequate security for the Benghazi mission, botching the response to it, and misleading the public for political gain with the attack coming less than two months before last November's presidential election.

According to the poll, 44% say statements made by the Obama administration soon after the attack were an attempt to intentionally mislead the public. Half of those questioned say those statements reflected what the Obama administration believed, at the time, had occurred.

But 59% now say that the U.S government could have prevented the attack in Benghazi, up 11 points from last November. And only 37% say that congressional Republicans are overreacting in their handling of the matter, with 59% saying they've reacted appropriately.

It's the same story on the IRS controversy, with 54% saying the GOP in Congress has not overplayed its hand.

The White House has also been criticized by Congress for the Justice Department's secret collection of phone records from the Associated Press as part of a government investigation into classified leaks. According to the poll, 52% say the Justice Department's actions were unacceptable, with 43% saying they disagree.

Americans appear to be taking all three controversies very seriously, with 55% saying the IRS and Benghazi matters are very important to the nation and 53% saying the same thing about the AP 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 adds.

Are Americans’ trust in the government shaken?

Only 43% say they have a great deal or some confidence in the people who run the federal government. But 56% say they have a great deal or some confidence in the system of government.

The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International between May 17-18, with 923 adults nationwide questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

– CNN Political Editor Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Filed under: CNN/ORC International poll • IRS • Libya • Polls • President Obama

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However, I can take to heart that this is CNN who is reporting this.  CNN is a voice box for Ted Turner, who is a known liberal.  What do the other polls have to say about the president's approval rating?

 (Courtesy of Gallup)

Week of May 13-19:

Approve: 49% (-1%); Disapprove: 44% (+1%)

Polling Data

Poll	Date	Sample	Approve	Disapprove	Spread
RCP Average	5/9 - 5/19	--	48.7	46.8	+1.9
Gallup	5/17 - 5/19	1500 A	49	44	+5
Rasmussen Reports	5/17 - 5/19	1500 LV	48	50	-2
CNN/Opinion Research	5/17 - 5/18	923 A	53	45	+8
Reuters/Ipsos	5/10 - 5/14	1215 A	45	49	-4
The Economist/YouGov	5/11 - 5/13	661 RV	47	50	-3
Reason-Rupe/PSRAI	5/9 - 5/13	1003 A	50	43	+7
Reuters/Ipsos	5/3 - 5/7	1589 A	45	47	-2
The Economist/YouGov	5/4 - 5/6	704 RV	49	49	Tie
Pew Research	5/1 - 5/5	1504 A	51	43	+8
Reuters/Ipsos	4/25 - 5/1	943 A	48	49	-1
The Economist/YouGov	4/27 - 4/29	638 RV	50	48	+2
Quinnipiac	4/25 - 4/29	1471 RV	48	45	+3
CBS News/NY Times	4/24 - 4/28	965 A	47	45	+2
FOX News	4/20 - 4/22	1009 RV	47	45	+2
Associated Press/GfK	4/11 - 4/15	1004 A	50	47	+3
ABC News/Wash Post	4/11 - 4/14	RV	47	49	-2
National Journal	4/5 - 4/9	1000 A	46	49	-3
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl	4/5 - 4/8	1000 A	47	48	-1
CNN/Opinion Research	4/5 - 4/7	1012 A	51	47	+4
Quinnipiac	3/26 - 4/1	1711 RV	49	45	+4
McClatchy/Marist	3/25 - 3/27	1061 RV	50	46	+4
CBS News	3/20 - 3/24	1181 A	45	46	-1
FOX News	3/17 - 3/19	1002 RV	47	47	Tie
CNN/Opinion Research	3/15 - 3/17	1021 A	47	50	-3
Pew Research	3/13 - 3/17	1501 A	47	46	+1
Democracy Corps (D)	3/9 - 3/12	840 LV	48	49	-1
ABC News/Wash Post	3/7 - 3/10	RV	51	46	+5
McClatchy/Marist	3/4 - 3/7	1068 RV	45	48	-3
Quinnipiac	2/27 - 3/4	1944 RV	45	46	-1
FOX News	2/25 - 2/27	1010 RV	46	47	-1
Reason-Rupe/PSRAI	2/21 - 2/25	1002 A	51	43	+8
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl	2/21 - 2/24	1000 A	50	45	+5
Bloomberg	2/15 - 2/18	1003 A	55	40	+15
USA Today/Pew Research	2/13 - 2/18	1504 A	51	41	+10
CBS News	2/6 - 2/10	1148 A	52	38	+14
FOX News	2/4 - 2/6	1010 RV	49	45	+4
Quinnipiac	1/30 - 2/4	1772 RV	46	45	+1
Reason-Rupe/PSRAI	1/17 - 1/21	1000 A	52	42	+10
FOX News	1/15 - 1/17	1008 RV	47	47	Tie
CNN/Time	1/14 - 1/15	814 A	55	43	+12
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl	1/12 - 1/15	1000 A	52	44	+8
CBS News/NY Times	1/11 - 1/15	1110 A	51	41	+10
Democracy Corps (D)	1/10 - 1/14	852 LV	53	45	+8
Associated Press/GfK	1/10 - 1/14	1004 A	54	42	+12
ABC News/Wash Post	1/10 - 1/13	RV	53	43	+10
Pew Research	1/9 - 1/13	1502 A	52	40	+12
CNN/Opinion Research	12/17 - 12/18	RV	50	45	+5
ABC News/Wash Post	12/13 - 12/16	RV	55	42	+13
CBS News	12/12 - 12/16	1179 A	57	37	+20
FOX News	12/9 - 12/11	1012 RV	48	46	+2
Bloomberg	12/7 - 12/10	1000 A	53	44	+9
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl	12/6 - 12/9	1000 A	53	43	+10
Pew Research	12/5 - 12/9	1503 A	55	39	+16
McClatchy/Marist	12/4 - 12/6	1091 RV	50	44	+6
Politico/GWU/Battleground	12/2 - 12/6	1000 LV	50	47	+3
Associated Press/GfK	11/29 - 12/3	1002 A	57	41	+16
Quinnipiac	11/28 - 12/3	1949 RV	53	40	+13
National Journal	11/25 - 12/1	1000 A	54	42	+12
CNN/Opinion Research	11/16 - 11/18	RV	52	45	+7
Politico/GWU/Battleground	11/4 - 11/5	1000 LV	49	49	Tie
CNN/Opinion Research	11/2 - 11/4	918 RV	51	47	+4
ABC News/Wash Post	11/1 - 11/4	2345 LV	51	48	+3
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl	11/1 - 11/3	1475 LV	49	49	Tie
Politico/GWU/Battleground	10/29 - 11/1	1000 LV	49	49	Tie
FOX News	10/28 - 10/30	1128 LV	50	47	+3
CBS News/NY Times	10/25 - 10/28	898 A	50	42	+8
NPR	10/23 - 10/25	1000 LV	49	49	Tie
Politico/GWU/Battleground	10/22 - 10/25	1000 LV	50	49	+1
Associated Press/GfK	10/19 - 10/23	839 LV	49	49	Tie
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl	10/17 - 10/20	1000 RV	49	48	+1
CBS News	10/17 - 10/20	1383 A	49	42	+7
Politico/GWU/Battleground	10/15 - 10/18	1000 LV	49	48	+1
ABC News/Wash Post	10/10 - 10/13	923 LV	50	48	+2
Politico/GWU/Battleground	10/7 - 10/11	1000 LV	50	48	+2
FOX News	10/7 - 10/9	1109 LV	49	48	+1

Republicans and Libertarians need not worry so much.  I have only seen a handful of polls online that have the president's approval rating above 50%.  The Gallup Poll, as I showed up above, shows the president's approval rating down one point from last week.  I would like to believe the reason his approval rating has only fallen by one point is because the American people are still of the mindset of a person being guilty until proven innocent.  Still, the fact that some of these polls that have the president not only above 50% but significantly so have surveyed their samples in large liberal areas of the nation's population.  Gallup is generally an independent polling service, the service that has been in use for decades in presenting the American people with a sitting president's approval rating.  This president is so divisive that no two polls can agree, and I have to believe that the sample from which CNN/Opinion Research performed its survey study came in a largely liberal area, even if these members of the Left are uniting behind their president in these areas.  It is amazing how low this approval rating really is when one considers that fact.