American politics has been very DIRTY ( FILTHY even ) since Washington's second term !
Would you like a books list?
I thought the stretch from the beginning of Madison’s second term through Monroe’s sixth year wasn’t bad—but maybe I’m missing something. Otherwise, I agree with you.
I agree, dirt was not the invention of the tabloids or Twitter. There were accusations of affairs, questioning of paternity of candidates that included racial slurs, and more dating back to the beginning.