Peter Stickney wrote:

In article ,
Cub Driver writes:

My bet is that we are going to see the dirtiest, nastiest
election campaign in the post-war period.

You evidently haven't followed many American elections. This one, so
far, is notable mostly for its blandness.

Actually, most of teh Presidential Campaigns of the 20th Century, and
leter, have been, on the whole, rather on the dull side. If we were
to go back to the 19th Century...
"Ma, Ma, Where's my Pa?"
"Gone to the White House! Haw! Haw! Haw!"

A Harrison campaign slogan used against Grover Cleveland, when it was
discovered that he had supported a child born out of wedlock.

It rather backfired, though. Rather than duck the issue, Clevelan
scknowledged the action, pointed out that out of the 4 or 5 likely
candidates for Paternity in this case, (Every generation thinks that
they were the ones to discover sex, or at least improve on it) he was
in the best position to provide support, and cheerfully did so.
Instead of being covered in mud, he came across as a man of honor who
was willing to deal with teh consequences of his actions.

Then there was the Douglas/Lincoln election of 1860... We all know
what a lovefest that turned out to be,

American elections of the 1800's would put current doings to shame!

Probably some of the most bitter were the Adams-Jefferson and
JQ Adams-Jackson contests. Absolute raw, fabricated, viciousness!

Many of the elections featured backroom deal-making that would make
Florida 2000 look angelic.

But certainly compared with typical 20th century electioneering, the
current contest is going to be a very bitter one, and given the
increasing polarity between Left and Right, I'd expect the trend to
continue in future contests.


SMH