So, what's a little phone call between opponents? After John Kerry virtually locked himself in as the Democrat presidential nominee on Super Tuesday, President Bush called to offer his congratulations. Bush reportedly said he looked forward to a civil campaign focused on the issues. Yeah, right!
Let's not kid ourselves. The mud balls are being loaded as we speak.
Everyone who's alive knows a civil campaign won't happen. Kerry's response was to go out and tell his supporters the "Republican attack machine" was gearing up. A few weeks earlier, Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie warned Democrats would run the "dirtiest campaign in modern political history."
Dirty campaigns are nothing new in America. Sadly, they've become pass+â-¬ to the political process. Pick a time period and history is loaded with political invective examples. There is no greater example than James T. Callender.
Callender could best be described as a red-blooded Scot with a silver tongue and a yellow pen. His chosen weapon was words and no quarter was granted. Callender's writings were especially vicious in attacking John Adams.
Adams came under fire when running for re-election against Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson had cultivated a cozy relationship with Callender as an under-the-table supporter, and Callender was happy to help his benefactor out.
Writing first for the Aurora and later for the Richmond Examiner, Callender penned a series of hypercritical essays that assailed Adams. Among Callender's more mundane assaults was to describe Adams as "unhinged" by the "delirium of vanity."
Adams was routinely pilloried as a "gross hypocrite," a "repulsive pedant" and "one of the most egregious fools upon the continent." Among Callender's worst declarations was to declare Adams a "hideous hermaphroditical character" who had "neither the force and firmness of the man, not the gentleness and sensibility of a woman."
Ouch.
Callender's words were so inflammatory he was jailed under the Sedition Act, which made it illegal to slander the government. Upon release, Callender showed he was an equal opportunity insulter. He turned on Jefferson when Jefferson distanced himself from Callender.
Callender was the man who broke the sensational accusations of Jefferson's affair with his slave, Sally Hemmings. Hemmings was referred to as a "concubine" and an "African Venus" and was reported to have borne Jefferson five children. The Hemmings charges have served to cement Callender's sordid legacy in American history because it was only a few years ago Jefferson's remains were disinterred to run DNA tests to settle the charges.
It could be considered poetic justice by some that Callender was eventually found dead on shore of the James River in Richmond. One gets the idea that he ticked someone off.
There's no doubt there will be some hideous diatribes turned loose as November nears. Some have already been leveled and dealt with. Part of the fun coming up is seeing exactly what will be said because some of it will be so outrageous.
The real trick is to see through the mud to the guts of the campaigns. The issues and records are what really matters, not the smokescreens laid by opponents. The voting public is going to have to dig through the mud to really make an informed decision in November.
Somewhere, Callender must be enjoying this.
Write to Jeff at mannedarena@yahoo.com
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
