Were campaigns always this vapid and free of substance or serious debate or do I just remember things differently?

george washington caught a lot of crap for his fancy parties - with silver punch bowls like he thought he was sum kinda aristocrat or something - so it’s been going on forever. the adams campaign warned that the deist jefferson would confiscate and burn all the bibles

but for me personally i’ve been most dismayed by the continual increase in shameless lying by republicans since 1980 or so