Yes, it is. One of the two major US parties (Republican) has built its current success on the proposition that kindness and consideration are a sign of weakness and therefore bad, the other that they are contingent (Democrat) and should be ostentatiously displayed when possible and dropped when inexpedient. It's the major sorting factor people use to pick a side.
As for Fred Rogers, testifying before your national legislative body about something is a textbook example of "political".