" but I suspect that's not the way politics were argued back in the Founders' days."
You suspect wrong:
"But don’t think the candidates weren’t playing a central behind-the-scenes role in their campaigns. Jefferson contacted one of his supporters, pamphleteer James Callender, to print a series of vicious tracts spreading lies about Adams. Callender’s publications alleged that Adams planned on going to war with France and that he had a “hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.” Callender’s slanderous attacks damaged Adams’ credibility and helped Jefferson win the election." - http://listverse.com/2014/01/18/10-worst-dirty-tricks-in-american-politics/
I will say this though, Trump is not a creation of Jon Stewart. He's a creation of the Tea Party and our celebrity culture. The Tea Party has been spreading hateful rhetoric since Obama was elected, and Trump used his celebrity status to get attention and take that rhetoric to the next level knowing the Tea Partiers would love it.
Furthermore, it is literally comedians' jobs to poke fun. They are meant to make us laugh, not closely examine the issues... which brings us to the OTHER big failure that's hurting politics today: The real journalists aren't doing their jobs very well. Shows like Jon's often do a better job of journalism than the real television journalists. When you've got a huge percentage of Americans watching what is essentially a propaganda channel for their news, real harm is done... far more than any harm caused by pointing out Trump's tiny hands.
In fact, many have pointed out that Trump received more airtime than any other candidate, by far, on the major news channels. Why? Look no further than the CEO of CBS, Les Moonves:
it may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS, that’s all I got to say.
So what can I say? It’s—you know, the money’s rolling in, and this is fun.
The problem isn't the comedians, it's the journalists who seek ratings rather than real news, and the people who only care about being entertained.
Great points, and I tend to agree with a lot of what you said, or at least, am willing to consider your points and do a bit more study. In particular, I strongly agree with your stance that journalism has failed us. Back to the ad hominem attacks in politics, though, and your historical tidbit on Jefferson v. Adams... Stuff like that did happen, I expressly mentioned that exceptions would be found. But we also have a wealth of material in speeches, letters, newspaper articles and the like from their time to show that this was not what the bulk of political discourse was like. I don't think anyone 200 years from now will be able to say the same about us.
I study a lot of American history, and one thing to keep in mind is that politics has been a blood sport in this country since its founding, but Adams and Jefferson to say nothing of Washington and Lincon, were great statesmen, unlike Trump. I'm voting for Clinton because I find Trump uniquely terrifying from a constitutional perspective. Being a 'American' means something to me, and Trump represents the opposet of that.
The problem w/shows like the Daily Show, etc., is that they too are very propagandistic (seldom if ever straying from what the great libertarian thinker/author/podcaster Tom Woods calls "the 3x5 index card of allowable opinion") and at this point are group-thinking clones who are explicitly and unabashedly biased in favor of leftism/Democrats.
These comedians jump into the political fray and DO have an effect but when faced w/pushback, fall back on "Hey, guys, I'm just a comedian!" (as Stewart did on Tucker Carlson's show).
His point in that interview was that the news should be held to a higher standard than the Daily Show. Opinions are not wrong because they happen to be popular. In this election, for example, I could have easily voted against HRC if a moderate Republican had ran instead of the ollection of freaks that did run.
I don't know...I saw JS's response as kind of a cop-out. Opinions are also not right just because many people hold them.
After Obama was elected was when I stopped watching the drivel that passes for late-night comedy...I lost all respect for Stewart & co. after they started carrying water for Obama...the leftist bias was just too much to stomach.
What is a 'moderate Republican' and what was so 'freakish' about the guys running this time around (it seemed like, aside from Trump & Rand Paul, the usual kinds of guys we see running)? What makes HRC (who is the most dangerous person I've seen get this close to the Presidency in my adult life) any better or less bad?
The way politics is discussed in America is the way middle-schoolers talk shit about other kids they don't like...very little of substance gets discussed, while a whole lot of personal insults/accusations are hurled...
Yeah, sure... Stewart totally towed the line for Obama. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=jon%20stewart%20slamming%20obama
If you can't see what was wrong with the Republican candidates this year... I don't even know what to say to that. Remember, the second "best" candidate was often compared to a serial killer, everyone who knew him hated him, and even his own kids didn't seem to want anything to do with him.
Like I said, not seeing what was so particularly bad about the Republicans who ran this year, nor do I see how HRC (and the DP) is any less bad.
C'mon dude...we all know that Stewart and most entertainers are biased in favor of leftism/Democrats...
was never trying to say they didn't have a leftward bias. I was trying to say that that doesn't mean those opinions are wrong. The GOP's moving right, I'm not a fan of Hillary, I would have voted for a republican that sat in the middle 50 percent of the spectrum, but all the republicans running were as far right as Bernie is left. And Trump is his own unique brand of awful.
OK, thanks for explaining. What do you mean by "the GOP's moving right"? From my POV, the GOP doesn't seem all that different than the DP (they mostly support all of the same major policies).
I just don't understand the Trump Hysteria (I agree that he isn't the ideal guy to want as POTUS)...all day long I've been asking anti-Trump people to explain what, exactly, makes him so uniquely bad but they haven't shown me how he's much different than what always ends up in office.
As an outsider/libertarian, Trump being the better candidate w/the most upside (relative to Hillary) seems a no-brainer...I don't know what I'm missing?