Poll Boosts Obama's Tucson Response

Continuing his general upswing in the polls, President Obama scored high marks in a Washington Post-ABC News poll for his response to the Tucson shooting—but Americans overwhelmingly had negative things to say about the tone of political discourse overall. Nearly eight in 10 respondents approved of Obama’s handling of the shooting, with even 71 percent of Republicans approving of his leadership. But while 55 percent said they were optimistic the political discourse in the country would become more civil following the tragedy, a majority said political commentators on both the left and the right crossed the line before the shooting. Sarah Palin didn’t come off so well either: Only 30 percent approved of her actions following the shooting, and about half—46 percent—disapproved. A majority of respondents also supported stricter gun-control laws.