Poll: Most Americans Feel Rhetoric, Tucson Shooting Unrelated  —  Nearly six in 10 Americans say the country's heated political rhetoric is not to blame for the Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to a CBS News poll.

TIM PAWLENTY DEMONSTRATES THAT HE'S NOT MAN ENOUGH TO BE PRESIDENT.  Well, that was quick.  These are the times that try men's souls.  Sometimes, they're found wanting.  —  UPDATE: So Politico has updated its story and here's the key bit: … And here's my problem.  “It would not have been my style.”

Peter King, Leading Republican, To Introduce Strict Gun-Control Legislation  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, is planning to introduce legislation that would make it illegal to bring a gun within 1,000 feet of a government official …

Quote of the Day: No, Both Sides Aren't Equally Guilty  —  From George Packer, who notes (correctly) that he called out the left for its ugly rhetoric in the runup to the Iraq War, on where today's ugly rhetoric mostly comes from: … This is too obviously true to need much defense.

Sanders Fundraises Off Arizona Murders  —  There has been no shortage of individuals and institutions that have sought to capitalize on the shootings in Tucson.  Add Vermont senator Bernie Sanders to that list.  —  This afternoon Sanders sent out a fundraising appeal …

Glock Pistol Sales Surge in Aftermath of Arizona Shootings  —  After a Glock-wielding gunman killed six people at a Tucson shopping center on Jan. 8, Greg Wolff, the owner of two Arizona gun shops, told his manager to get ready for a stampede of new customers.  —  Wolff was right.

The Tea Party and the Tucson Tragedy  —  How anti-government, pro-gun, xenophobic populism made the Giffords shooting more likely.  —  There's something offensive, as well as pointless, about the politically charged inquiry into what might have been swirling inside the head of Jared Loughner.

Pima County sheriff should remember duty  —  On Saturday afternoon, with his friend Gabby Giffords in surgery fighting for her life, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik railed against the tense partisan politics - “the anger, the hatred, the bigotry” - that prompted the mass murders outside Tucson, in his view.

Chafee to Issue Talk Radio Ban  —  ABC News' Steven Portnoy reports:  —  State officials in Rhode Island will soon be ordered to stay off the airways, provided the interviewer happens to be a talk show host.  —  A spokesman for Gov. Lincoln Chafee tells the Providence Journal that talk radio …

Mark Halperin: Conservatives should turn the other cheek when scapegoated for murder  —  During a discussion on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” Tuesday, the panel conceded that conservatives and Tea Party activists were unfairly scapegoated in the wake of Jared Lee Loughner's shooting spree in Tucson …

Blizzard Mystery Solved?  Air Bloomberg Was Seen in Bermuda  —  On the day after Christmas, a request came into the Bermuda airport: a private plane needed to be pulled out of its hangar and readied for takeoff.  —  The pilots seemed a bit anxious to depart.

And Speaking Of Krugman And Double Standards At The Times...  OK, I am back in Arizona.  Pejman has a great piece on inflamed rhetoric which reminds me of this jaw-dropper - a Democratic Congressman who last fall said a Republican candidate for Governor should be shot has a guest piece in today's NY Times talking about civility.

CNN's Erickson: In Wake Of Attempted Murder Of Jewish Politician, It's Important To Stress “A Saving Faith In Jesus Christ”  —  CNN's Erick Erickson is upset with what people aren't saying about the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords: … For the record: Rep. Giffords is Jewish …

Kerry warns against a government ‘too limited to have invented the Internet’  —  Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) warned incoming Republicans Tuesday morning against cutting back the size of government so much that it cannot contribute to U.S. productivity.  —  “Do they want a government too limited …

FROM ‘SPECIAL’ TO FRACTIOUS, HOW THE ROOTS OF FRICTION BETWEEN BRITAIN, FRANCE AND THE U.S. GO BACK TO THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE  —  While the apparent froideur of Barack Obama towards the British may stem from his Kenyan family's history during colonial rule it could be argued …

The Poison Of Limbaugh  —  Very very very few people have contributed more poison and hatred and extremism to the culture than Rush Limbaugh.  As every single conservative commentator joins ranks in calling the Tucson assassination a completely apolitical act, and as the right discovers …