US: Calls to tone down fighting talk

THE vicious American political climate has become a suspect of sorts in the Arizona rampage - already, appeals are being heard to tone down the rhetoric.

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democratic leader in the Senate, yesterday cited imagery of crosshairs on political opponents used by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her combative rallying cry, "Don't retreat; reload."

"These sorts of things, I think, invite the kind of toxic rhetoric that can lead unstable people to believe this is an acceptable response," Mr Durbin said.

Still others cautioned against blaming political rhetoric - or the language and imagery of a particular political group - for the tragedy in Tucson. Republicans were especially sensitive to suggestions that the conservative Tea Party movement, was contributing to a more poisonous political environment.