Allegheny College Poll: Americans Want More Civility in Their Politics

A Zogby poll, commissioned by Allegheny College's Center for Political Participation, finds that 95 percent of Americans believe civility to be vital in effective political discourse, among some other interesting tidbits:

• A whopping 95 percent of Americans believe civility in politics is important for a healthy democracy.
• 87 percent suggest it is possible for people to disagree about politics respectfully.
• Nearly 50 percent of Americans believe there has been a decline in the tone of politics since Barack Obama became President; 39 percent say it has remained the same; and 10 percent suggest there has been an improvement.
• Citizens paying close attention to politics are four times as likely to say the tone of politics has gotten worse than those who pay only modest attention to the news.
• Radio listeners are much more likely to perceive a decline in civility than are newspaper readers.
• Blame for the decline in civility is spread widely, but political parties and the media are seen as the worst culprits.
• Liberals are twice as likely to promote compromise solutions, than are conservatives...

The full report can be accessed here.