http://washingtonexaminer.com/dems-2014-challenge-how-to-win-when-americans-see-a-liar-in-the-white-house/article/2547422Dems' 2014 challenge: How to win when Americans see a liar in the White House
By Mark Tapscott | APRIL 18, 2014 AT 9:26 AM
Timing is everything in politics and the latest Fox News poll suggests the timing of the 2014 midterm election could not be worse for President Obama and his fellow Democrats.
With public approval of Congress in the single digits, senators and representatives in both parties may face the most challenging political environment of their careers.
But the Fox survey makes clear that things aren't breaking well for Obama, either, and his popularity rating may be the most important factor in determining how Democrats fare in November.
Liar, liar, pants on fire
Presidents have been unpopular before. Harry Truman's approval rating sank to 23 percent at one point and Richard Nixon was so unpopular that he became the first chief executive ever to resign.
But when was the last time an American president was thought by half of his countryman to be a routine liar? According to Fox, 61 percent say Obama lies on important public issues all or some of the time.
Thirty-seven percent say Obama lies "most of the time," while 24 percent say he lies "some of the time." Only 15 percent say Obama "never lies."
Keep digging on IRS
As troubling as the public perception of Obama's honesty likely is for Democratic strategists, another result of the Fox survey may ultimately prove just as politically damaging.
Forty-nine percent of the Fox respondents believe Obama intentionally had the IRS target and harass his Tea Party and conservative critics in the 2010 and 2012 elections.
And 67 percent say Congress should continue investigating the IRS scandal, including 77 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of independents and 57 percent of Democrats.
If these trends continue through Election Day, the results may make the 2010 Republican sweep look like a close contest.
