:patriot: In this time of great sorrow and challenge, we should feel a small bit of solace and pride that ours in the party of genuine statesmen ... who appeal to our better angels.
Bill Clinton: Politics must change after Arizona attack
Mr Clinton said there was a need for care in political discourse
Former President Bill Clinton has told the BBC the US political climate must change after the shooting of a US Congresswoman and others in Arizona.
"No one intends to do anything that encourages this sort of behaviour," he said. But political rhetoric "falls on the unhinged and the hinged alike".
He said political differences should not "degenerate into demonisation".
Some commentators suggest the vitriolic political rhetoric in the US may have contributed in some way to the attack.
Speaking on a trip to Haiti, Mr Clinton said: "We cannot be unaware of the fact that - particularly with the internet - there's this huge echo chamber out there."
He called on the US House of Representatives to "lead the way" in toning down the discourse.
"This is an occasion for us to reaffirm that our political differences shouldn't degenerate into demonisation, in the sense that if you don't agree with me you're not a good American," he said.
"I'm hoping there will be a lot of good debates that go beyond turning this into politics... about how and why it happened and what else we can do to minimise those things."
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VIDEO at LINK:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12164122
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