It can easily be argued that much like an automobile that begins to depreciate the moment it has been driven off the lot, the debate that is the bread-and-butter of the modern-day, American, two-party political system began to deteriorate the moment the wheels of the very first reelection campaign were set in motion. But boy, how far we’ve come. That’s the message given by two former Presidents. In just their latest in a series of bipartisan lovefests, former Presidents Clinton and Bush lamented the increasing harshness in recent media coverage of politicians, particularly the office of the President.

In a recent speech at the CTIA wireless industry conference, the elder Bush said that the relationship between the press and politicians is even uglier than he remembered, while his successor Mr. Clinton berated the uneven coverage of blogs and cited their tendency to “bad mouth” politicians as evidence that media coverage has taken a turn for the worse. This is America. Over the years Bill Clinton badmouthed numerous women, the military, his Secret-Service detail, The elder Bush’s son and countless others. He should leave well enough alone… Mr. Clinton was right about one thing: The pioneering role that blogs will play in clearing a path through the muck during the 2008 election and beyond. His wife Hillary will no longer be able to float inaccurate campaign sound bites without being challenged.

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