Poll: Republicans less interested in unity than Obama

Even as Americans spilt on whether the president is appropriately handling his response to the looming sequester, the public by a nearly 3-to-1 margin believe Republicans are emphasizing a partisan response over political unity.

In the survey, released Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News, 64 percent of respondents said Republicans were focused on a partisan approach, while just 22 percent said they were seeking unity.

By contrast, 48 percent of respondents said President Obama is attempting to unify the country, while 43 percent view the president's actions as partisan in nature. That's better than the Democratic Party as a whole; by a 49 to 37 percent margin, Americans believe the party emphasizes partisanship over unity.

Still, the numbers suggest President Obama has earned some traction in his recent efforts to cast blame on Republicans for the  $85 billion in across-the-board sequester cuts set to hit at the end of this week. Earlier Tuesday, Obama said Republicans “refuse to compromise even an inch” on closing tax loopholes.

“That’s what’s holding things up right now,” Obama said. “Keep in mind nobody is asking them to raise income tax rates. All we’re asking is to consider closing tax loopholes and deductions that the Speaker in the House John Boehner said he was willing to do just a few months ago.”

Republicans say they've already conceded higher taxes as part of the "fiscal cliff" deal last month, and that it's time for the president and Democrats to more seriously address the nation's debt. GOP leaders have also accused Obama of launching a political "road show" rather than negotiating with Congress.

“This is not the time to be out campaigning, it’s the time to solve something,” House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Fox News. “He’s going on the road tomorrow, 150 miles away, to hype this up and try to scare the American public when he can go one mile down and talk to Harry Reid."

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday Republicans didn't want the president discussing the sequester because polls indicated they supported Obama's approach.

"I guess that maybe they are opposed to the President talking to the American people about sequester because the American people overwhelmingly support the President's position on how to reduce our deficit, and reject overwhelmingly the Republican position, which is placing the entire burden on senior citizens and middle-class families and the like," Carney said.

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