Poll: Obama's approval rating falls

David Jackson | USA TODAY

President Obama's support may be eroding amid reports of surveillance programs and Internal Revenue Service abuses.

A new CNN/ORC International poll gives Obama an approval rating of 45%, a drop of 8 percentage points over the past month.

Possible reasons: Reports of massive National Security Agency surveillance programs that gather phone numbers and Internet activity, the IRS targeting of conservative groups, and actions surrounding the Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya.

"The drop in Obama's support is fueled by a dramatic 17-point decline over the past month among people under 30, who, along with black Americans, had been the most loyal part of the Obama coalition," says CNN polling director Keating Holland.

Holland also said: "It is clear that revelations about NSA surveillance programs have damaged Obama's standing with the public, although older controversies like the IRS matter may have begun to take their toll as well."

Also from CNN:

"The poll indicates that for the first time in Obama's presidency, half of the public says they don't believe he is honest and trustworthy.

"And Americans are split on the controversial National Security Agency anti-terrorism program to record metadata on U.S. phone calls, but they support the NSA program that targets records of Internet usage by people in other countries.

"That doesn't mean they necessarily like what is going on: Just over six in 10 believe that government is so large and powerful that it threatens the rights and freedoms of ordinary Americans."