For Dems, It’s ‘Hear No Evil See No Evil’ on Obama Scandals

Although it is terribly normal for Americans to be disengaged from the latest Obama scandals, unfortunately there is a clear partisan divide. One must wonder if we are not seeing either a selective hearing or selective answering phenomena in the  study conducted by Pew Research.

To be fair, it is understandable that Democrats are practicing “hear no evil see no evil” on the trifecta of scandal. The same was true of Nixon, the Lewinsky scandal, and the “Scooter” Libby controversy. However, the recognizable difference between past scandals and the current scandals regarding the Obama administration has been the mainstream media coverage.

Consider that the Pew Research study does not even ask the question surrounding James Rosen, which we know was personally signed off on by Eric Holder. At this point, it is not a question of if Eric Holder will resign, it is a question of when. The AP scandal is not even the AP scandal anymore, but a general media scandal.

Nevertheless, Americans are not paying very close attention to any of these scandals as of yet, and Democrats are paying less attention still. From Pew:

So far, public interest in a trio of controversies connected to the Obama administration has been limited. Roughly a quarter (26%) of Americans say they are very closely following reports that the IRS targeted conservative groups. About the same number (25%) are tracking the Benghazi investigation very closely, and even fewer (16%) are very closely following news about the Justice Department subpoenaing phone records of AP journalists.

It will be interesting to see if over the Memorial Day weekend Americans stood around the BBQ and discussed the scandals. This study, as well as others, were all conducted prior to the holiday. The new ABC poll, which I will opine on in a larger column on the President’s approval rating, is questionable to say the least. Studies conducted prior or during a holiday are never accurate snap shots in time.

The bad news for the administration is that those Americans who are paying attention to the Obama scandals, do not believe that the administration did not have knowledge – especially on the IRS scandal.

Those who followed the IRS story at least fairly closely (50% of the public) express similar views about the administration’s involvement: 49% say the administration was involved while 35% say it was not.

Independents side with the GOP on the question of involvement. Again, it seems to be wishful thinking on the part of the Democrats, but past experiences have shown the GOP to be just as willing to put their hands over their ears. The exception, which actually involves the Democrats, was the Monica Lewinsky scandals. Pew found:

The exception to this partisan gap was the public’s first reaction to the Monica Lewinsky story. An early February 1998 survey found 35% following very closely, with high levels of interest across party lines. However, the partisan gap in interest in allegations against Clinton increased during impeachment proceedings later that year.

Two findings jump out when reviewing the chart to the left. Firstly, despite the claim that they are more skeptical, the GOP is clearly just as eager to give their guy the benefit of the doubt over scandal. Secondly, Americans clearly do not care about the AP scandal. This may reflect a general mistrust of the media among Americans, thus they do not extend their sympathies; or perhaps the coverage black-out over James Rosen has prevented Americans from viewing the AP as part of a larger scandal to “chill” the press.

As more studies become available, we will be able to test the aforementioned theories. Americans tend to not look favorably, or tolerate on blatant attacks on the Bill of Rights. Of course, they have to know about them first, which so far, it appears they do not. Unlike the Nixon scandals, for instance, the media has not engaged any of these scandals with the same vigor, and are just now turning into “Johnny-come-lately” journalists.

The GOP should welcome it even if it does not last long. Better late than never.

Richard D. Baris @RichBaris