As a person who watched the Kennedy-Nixon debates, the drop in the level of public political argument in the intervening fifty years is breathtaking. Nixon was noted for his debating skills and his drama-queen "Checkers" speech. Kennedy was also noted for his reasoning and rhetorical flourishes. But, ever since Ronald Reagan, the GOP have walked away from serious debate in favor of posturing, name-calling, smears, and confrontation. Newt Gingrich's infamous list of adjectives to smear the Dems with is a good measure of how the GOP has treated argumentation for the last twenty years.
You might say that the GOP are entitled to do this, but that its the media's job to take them to task for it. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. The corporate media? The Bush butt-kissing media? Not a snowball's chance in hell. The media doesn't want people to think; it wants them to emote. They want a shouting match, not a reasoned debate.
So, it falls to us bloggers to take the GOP to task for its vulgar debasement of political debate. Below the fold, I will call upon some professional help to do this.