Bill Clinton: We Must Cool Down Political Climate

Former President Bill Clinton doesn’t blame left or right for Saturday’s tragic shooting Saturday in Arizona. But he tells the BBC that both sides must cool down the rhetoric.

“Nobody intends for this kind of thing to happen,” Clinton says. “But we do need to be careful about things we say.”

Many cite Clinton’s response to the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City as a model for how politicians, including President Barack Obama, should deal with the Tucson disaster, Politico reports.

Political rhetoric "falls on the unhinged and the hinged alike," Clinton points out. "We cannot be unaware of the fact that — particularly with the Internet — there's this huge echo chamber out there. This is an occasion for us to reaffirm that our political differences shouldn't degenerate into demonization, in the sense that if you don't agree with me you're not a good American."