"Lies! Slander! Trickery!" the cover of the magazine screams across the cover picture of one of the candidates.
The challenger is derided as being "too French" and accused of cowardice.
The incumbent is called "senile, a poor judge of character, vain, jealous, and driven by an ungovernable temper."
Surrogates do a lot of the campaigning so that the candidates can stay above the fray. The campaign is harshly negative, filled with personal attacks. Supporters on both sides believe that whomever is elected will set the course of the nation for generations to come.
What magazine is saying all this? Read after the break to find out...
The wife of the incumbent says the campaign could "corrupt the minds and morals of the best people in the world."
The challenger says that the rule of the incumbent party has been like the "reign of witches", and that they are "adverse to liberty" and "calculated to undermine and demolish the republic."
Though it may sound like it, Smithsonian Magazine isn't talking about 2004. The story is about the election of 1800, when Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, and Charles Pinckney challenged incumbent John Adams. The election ended up in the House of Representatives, with Jefferson eventually selected President and Burr made Vice President.
The parallels to today cited above are interesting. Many here likely know the story, but if you don't and you enjoy history, the rest of the story may interest you as well: (LINK to PDF)