PrintFox Poll: Voters don't think Obama scandals are 'phony'
By varying majorities, the voting public doesn't think much of President Obama's contention that the scandals swirling around his administration are phony.
A Fox News national poll released Thursday finds that 78 percent of voters think the questions over the administration's handling of the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi should be taken seriously. Just 17 percent call it a phony scandal.
The attack, on the anniversary of September 11, killed four Americans -- including the U.S. ambassador.
Meanwhile, 69 percent of voters say the National Security Agency's electronic surveillance of everyday Americans is serious, while 26 percent call that a fake scandal.
By a margin of 59-31 percent, voters are also more likely to view the seizure of reporters' phone records by the Justice Department as serious rather than phony.
And while the White House sees a Congressional investigation of the IRS targeting of conservative groups as a "distraction," 59 percent of voters take it seriously. Some 33 percent agree with the administration that it's fake.
In each of the four situations, voters across the partisan spectrum -- Republicans, independents and Democrats -- are more likely to say the situation should be taken seriously.
Democrats are most inclined to agree with the White House on the IRS scandal: 49 percent say it's serious, while 42 percent call it a phony scandal.
Fully 70 percent of Democrats think the administration's handling of Benghazi is a serious matter.
Overall, a 62-percent majority of voters believes the White House is trying to cover-up what happened in Benghazi, while 27 percent say the administration is being open and transparent. These views are mostly unchanged from May.
I find the numbers on Benghazi very significant. As much as the administration has tried to stonewall Congress and thwart the investigations into what happened, such a massive majority that believes that the scandal isn't phony and that there is an administration coverup proves that the GOP is on the right track and should keep at it.
Funny how we haven't heard a repeat of the charge that the scandals are "phony" since press secretary Carney made that suggestion right after the president did.
