Tone of presidential race no big deal to some

New research shows public has become accustomed to boorish behavior.

Crooked Hillary. Lock Her Up. Basket of Deplorables. The tone of the 2016 presidential race may be the most uncivilized and disrespectful in recent American history.

But something else is different too: Many people are OK with that.

Republican Donald Trump was caught on audio tape suggesting he could get away with grabbing women by the genitals because he’s a star. Still, the multi-billionaire has the backing of 38 percent to 48 percent of Ohio voters, depending on the poll.

Democrat Hillary Clinton labeled half of Trump supporters “deplorables” and is viewed unfavorably by more than half the voters in Ohio. Yet she has support from 41 to 45 percent of Ohio voters, depending on the poll.

A new University of Akron poll conducted for this newspaper and other Ohio news organizations found that 77 percent of Ohioans view Trump as disrespectful to people who aren’t like him and 62 percent of voters think he doesn’t care about people like them — stunningly numbers for someone who won the nomination of his party.

Attitudes about what is acceptable behavior have shifted since 2010, according to a Zogby poll on civility in American politics conducted for Allegheny College. Six years ago, 89 percent of the American public said commenting on another’s race or ethnicity was out of bounds; today, 69 percent deem it unacceptable — a 20-point drop.

More people today find it acceptable to insult or belittle someone, shout over them in an argument or question the patriotism of someone with a differing opinion, the poll found.

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