Are the US Presidential Primaries Nastier Than Ever?

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Fist fights, grabbing, sucker punches, leaked "tweets", spouse photos and more. Does it seem like this is the nastiest primary season you can recall? I remember tasteless advertisements, off handed comments and ignorant statements made in presidential primaries before. But of late neither the Republicans or the Democrats are immune from sewer politics. Perhaps it is that with time we forget things and now we are all subjected and inundated with the current spectacle so much that it just seems like the worse ever. It's not just the campaign staff and the politicians themselves getting into the affray. It's old news now that those who attend rallies have punched, poked and prodded protesters. Read some of the comments the general public make about the candidates on news articles and videos and even now it seems there is a new low. The world here in the States may just be an altered reality. Remember when campaign slogans vilified rich, white men in the "top 1%"? Who'd of thunk that one of those 1% is headed for the Republican nomination? Ironically, it is the working class who seem to be deifying Donald Trump. Are you old enough to remember "Don't trust anyone over 30"? Well another odd phenomenon is the 20 somethings that are rallying behind a grandfather figure who inexplicably swings his finger up in the air, then down and growls and barks his answers. Not to the questions asked mind you, but to a now to familiar attack on "Wall Street". Can't tell you what he plans to do since he doesn't tell you, but hey this is politics. How about tweeting pictures of the candidate's wives with varying degrees of innuendo? You would not do that about someone's husband would you? Oh, yes, I forgot that the leading female candidate is being criticized for her husbands behavior. As to the female candidates, both current and past there is no question the commentary has been about everything from going to the bathroom and how they look (and that is all I will mention here so as not to repeat the more base and tasteless subjects that have come up). Maybe I missed it, but none of the male candidates appear to have stepped out of a "Chippendales" line up. The debates make Kindergarten seem mature. If I hear "they did it first" or some other lame excuse one more time, I will shut off the broadcast. No, I really won't since it is not often I can watch train wrecks unfold syllable by syllable. There are decent candidates, real issues and real problems in this country. The problem is that is not what we are seeing addressed. It is the side show that seems to get all the media attention and we seem to gobble it up. Frankly I am not above it all...but I do have a severe case of indigestion from it. The unfortunate part is that all of our futures are at stake and the process seems to be eating up any promise.