Quote:
Originally Posted by AOII Angel
It was definitely there for the Clinton. Hell, it was there for the Kennedys. People like to remember him well because of the assassination, but there were many people who couldn't stand JFK. My father's family (who are incidentally Catholic) still talk about how they didn't like JFK and what a terrible president he was.
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Well, it's always been there to a greater or lesser degree. We've gone in waves of greater civility and lesser civility. Greater civility doesn't mean everyone loves the president, but it means disagreement is expressed, publically at least, in a civil and respectful way. And it means there is at least a tacit acknowledgement that just because someone disagrees with "us" doesn't mean they're unpatriotic or evil. Greater civility at least tries to start with the assumption that everyone has the nation's best interests at heart, they just disagree about what the nation's best interests are or how to achieve them.
I don't think there's any question that we've been stuck in the trench of a wave of lesser civility since Clinton at least.