National Journal - There is a common element to the so-called Obama scandals – the IRS targeting of conservatives, the fatal attack in Benghazi, and widespread spying on U.S. journalists and ordinary Americans. It is a lack of credibility.
In each case, the Obama administration has helped make controversies worse by changing its stories, distorting facts and lying.
The abuse of trust may be taking a toll on President Obama's reputation.
A CNN/ORC poll of 1,104 adult Americans from June 11-13 shows that the president's job approval rating is 45 percent, down 8 percentage points in a month.
Among young voters, only 48 percent approve of the president's performance, a 17-point decline since the last CNN/ORC poll. These are the president's most loyal supporters, and the future of American politics.
The drop in presidential approval is across the board, effecting Obama's standing on every issue measured: The economy (down 2 points); foreign affairs (down 5 points); federal budget (down 4 points); terrorism (down 13 points); and immigration (down 4 points).
Asked for the first time by CNN/ORC about the president's handing of "government surveillance of U.S. citizens," 61 percent of Americans said they disapprove.
Greg Sargent, a liberal columnist for The Washington Post, said via Twitter that these results seemed at odds with others showing strong public support for the National Security Agency's spying programs.
I don't think there is anything odd about it. Voters don't judge their leaders on the basis of one or two policies, and their decisions often seem at odds with what elites consider to be their "self-interests." Especially when it comes to the presidency, Americans tend to trust their guts, and in Obama's case, lately, something doesn't feel right. Can I trust this guy?
A month into Obama's presidency, 74 percent of Americans answered "yes," saying the terms "honesty and trustworthy" applied to him. As you would expect, the percentage dropped a few months later but remained steady at about 60 percent since November 2009, according to CNN/ORC.
This month, only 49 percent of Americans say Obama is honest and trustworthy. That is a 9 point drop since May 17-18.