Poll: Americans High On Obama’s Tucson Response — And Low On Palin’s

Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) and President Barack Obama (D)
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Sarah Palin may be reloading, but Americans are retreating from her–at least when it comes to how she responded to the shooting spree in Tucson that killed six and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in critical condition.

According to a new ABC-Washington Post poll, just 30% of Americans approve of Palin’s response to the shooting, versus 46% who disapprove. That low approval is even more striking when compared to Americans’ opinion of how Obama responded to the tragedy. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said they approve of the President’s response, while only 12% respondents said they disapprove.

Similarly, a PPP poll released this morning also found that a plurality of voters disapproved of Palin’s response to the shooting. Forty percent of respondents to that poll said Palin’s response was “inappropriate” compared to 27% who said it was appropriate.

And as Greg Sargent points out, not even a majority of Republicans think Palin handled her response well, according to the ABC-Washington Post poll. Forty-eight percent of Republicans said Palin handled the situation well, fewer than the 53% who said Palin’s nemesis, the so-called “lame stream media,” handled it well.

After the shooting, Plain released an online video in which she struck back at critics who chastised her for her heated political rhetoric, calling it a “blood libel” to link her in any way to the shooter’s motives. At a time when many pundits and politicians were calling for a more civil discourse, Palin’s struck a combative, defiant tone.

Obama responded to the tragedy with an almost opposite tone. On the same day Palin released her video, the President delivered a speech at a memorial service in Arizona in which he implored Americans to stand together and to not let the tragedy result in a fractious lame game.

[TPM Slideshow: ‘We Will Heal’: The Memorial In Tucson]

The survey’s results paint a stark picture of the contrasting opinions Americans have of these two political foes, and they indicate that Palin may have dug herself a deeper hole if she ultimately decides to pursue the presidency in 2012.

Obama’s approval rating has spiked recently, especially in polls taken after his speech in Tucson. The same ABC-Washington Post poll found Obama’s approval rating had matched its highest point in about a year, with 54% of Americans approving of his job performance compared to 43% disapproving.

Meanwhile, a large majority of Americans view Palin unfavorably. According to the latest TPM Poll Average, 51.7% of Americans view Palin unfavorably, versus just 37.2% who view her favorably.

And in a comparative metric, Obama has typically held wide leads in hypothetical head-to-head presidential matchups with Palin. The current TPM Poll Average shows Obama leading Palin 52.5% to 37.1%, with the gap growing wider over the past several months.

The ABC-Washington Post poll was conducted January 13-16 among 1,053 adults nationwide. It has a margin of error of 3.5%.

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