GingerV,

Indeed, political discourse is most difficult to transact when not handled reasonably. Character assassination seems to me to be a form of ad hominem argument intended to redirect/misdirect the focus of the argument away from the subject.

One can only wonder why so much effort is made to do so. My guess is that those who employ these techniques prefer to avoid the difficult and serious issues that political discourse, followed by political actions attempt to address. A few years ago, here in the States, Daniel Moynahan, decried the trivialization of substantive issues. It seems he was on to something

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Eudaimonia