AMERICANS overwhelmingly describe the tone of political discourse in the country as negative, verging on angry, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, but more than half say the culture did not contribute to the shootings in Tucson. The shootings killed six people and wounded 13, including Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Evaluations of president Barack Obama’s handling of the January 8th tragedy are highly positive across the political spectrum, with nearly eight in 10 giving him high marks for his response. A robust 71 per cent of Republicans say they approve of his leadership following the shootings.
The strong reviews of the president’s response to the Arizona incident – which included giving a prime-time eulogy at a memorial service – have helped boost Mr Obama’s overall approval rating to its highest point since last April.
Fifty-four per cent of all Americans now approve of the way he is handling his job as president, while 43 per cent disapprove.
Polling started the evening after Mr Obama’s Arizona speech, and the numbers show a big shift among Republicans. In early October, as a heated midterm election campaign entered its final month, Republican approval of Mr Obama dipped to 8 per cent. It is now 22 per cent. Most Republicans still strongly disapprove of the president’s job performance, but at 53 per cent, such intense disapproval is down 10 points since December. It is now lower than at any point since summer 2009.
Like similar violent events in the past, the Arizona shootings did not generate greater support for tougher gun-control measures in general. But a majority – 57 per cent – said they support a nationwide ban on high-capacity magazine clips such as the one the shooter in Tucson used.
Overall, 52 per cent favour stricter gun-control laws, a number little changed in recent years and down from where it was after the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech. Support for new restrictions on the sale of semiautomatic handguns is also down from what it was after the Virginia Tech incident.
Slim majorities say political commentators on the left and the right have crossed the line of acceptable rhetoric, and almost half say so of the Tea Party movement.
Fifty-two per cent of Americans now hold unfavourable views of the Tea Party, a new high. Nearly three-quarters of Democrats – including as many moderate and conservative as liberal members of the party – have negative views of the political movement, as do half of all independents.
In contrast to glowing reviews for the president, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin drew more negative than positive evaluations of the way she has handled the tragedy. About 30 per cent give her positive marks, while nearly half – 46 per cent – disapprove of her actions. About a quarter in the poll expressed no opinion.
Fewer than half of all Republicans approve of Ms Palin's handling of the matter, with positive marks rising to just 56 per cent among conservative Republicans. – ( Washington Postservice)