Uncivil Campaigning...

We often hear complaints that the tone of modern campaigning is outrageously uncivil, surely more so than at any time in the past.  I've read quite a bit of history, including in particular a lot of U.S. history.  Such complaints about campaign incivility sometimes make me laugh out loud, because I've read so much worse.  In fact, I'd say that by historical standards our current campaigns are certainly in the 10% “most civil”, possibly even the top 5%.  Many U.S. histories, especially biographies of past presidents, cite old campaign ads and flyers; some are even reproduced.  But that stuff is hard to get up on the web.

The good folks at Reason have done it for me.  The video below (which I just ran across this morning) is from them, and makes the above point very nicely.  It's also quite funny.  And being the good citizens that they are, they even include their sources.  Enjoy!