What we have come down to is that, for both the candidates and the parties - most particularly for the parties - the goal is to be elected, to be the one in the position of most power! Not to be the advocate of a particular philosophy of governance or national ethos beyond what will put voters in their pocket.

Can't wait to see what dirt they come up with between now & Wednesday, October 19, 2016.

You know they have a lot more bombs in their arsenals to drop. I want to know who is leaking which ones.

What's happening next Thursday?

Bravo Elmer! Could not have communicated that as well as you, but I wholeheartedly agree. I hate the stupid mudslinging, it cheapens us as a country.

The voters picked these two candidates....doesn't say much for the electorate.

It is sad. I remember a time when a President had to resign to avoid impeachment over erasing 18 minutes of tape that was of no consequence to national security. Now, we don't care about the deletion of 30,000 documents relating to national security (or the resultant loss of American lives). Times certainly have changed...and not for the better.

Yes, Wanda...agree with you...times have certainly changed....for the worse! With everyone we have in the US, how did we end up with these two?

I said to DH today....I'm so glad your parents and my parents are no longer alive. They could not handle this demise of morality.

You've mangled the history a bit.

It's not known whose action produced the recording gap but I don't think Nixon was ever accused of doing it. It was thought to have been the work of one of his staff members.

The so-called "cover-up" was his transgression, the effort to mask Nixon's lying and personal involvement in trying to misdirect or derail the criminal investigations concerning the break-in at DNC headquarters at the Watergate complex, possible felonies. The tapes of meetings in his office were thought to contain evidence of his involvement. At the conclusion of the work of the Watergate Committee, the House Judiciary Committee drew up three Articles of Impeachment charging Nixon with Obstruction of Justice, Abuse of Power, and Contempt of Congress. He resigned to avoid this process, before the vote was taken.

Demise of morality? I honestly don't think human nature has changed much, what has changed is the availability of information.

Going back at least 100 years, I believe the majority of US presidents had mistresses and extramarital affairs. Some of them had numerous and repetitive female partners, like JFK (and his father and his brothers, and on and on). FDR died in the arms of one of his long-term lovers (he had many), not his wife.

Sexual activity as a favorite pastime has long been true for political leaders at all levels and for public personalities. The difference between today and yesteryear is that in the past, there was an understanding among the press and others that the transgressions of people in power and in the public eye wouldn't be mentioned. Today, it's impossible to keep secrets.

sleeperblues- the final debate is next Wednesday, October 19th, so we are almost certainly going to see a few "mud bombs" dropped between then and election day in a puerile attempt to sway the most feeble minded voters.

Elmer- I would agree that politicians and people in positions of power have always acted this way. Sadly, many think this is a new phenomenon.

What should be disgusting and shocking to many, is sadly accepted as a fact. Those who are recently shocked by it have blinders on and foolishly think this man is calling attention to the disgusting debasement of our country when, in reality, many already knew it was happening and turned a blind eye.

Both sides suck.

I watched the debate last night and I felt like I was in some teen rom-com where they are fighting over who will be crowned student president.

Going online and reading the responses and reactions from both sides only made it worse.

As I told hubby tonight, both sides are locked in an echo chamber of self righteousness, convinced they are right and the other side is the proverbial devil.

The truth is, both sides fight dirty, both sides have horrible selections and both sides are convinced they are right.

Since politics has become like a Jerry Springer show it's become such a joke. The division isn't over issues, it's over parties. It doesn't matter than one side comes up with a good idea, the other side MUST oppose it because it came from the other side. I've already voted. The circus is irrelevant to me. The American thirst for gossip and scandal is ridiculous. Rich people hiding their taxes is not new. Fighting over some emails is silly. All the candidates have lied and we've come to expect it but the nonsense continues. People try to inflict their "morals" on everyone else, but they don't seem to think they're obligated to it. Wave a Bible and you'll have a faction hooting and hollering but don't bring up those people to whom you're giving money continue to rape children. That coverup is fine. The hot topics always come up and you see them cater to the cults on each side of those hot topics.

I'm just happy to have the subchannels to watch, movies available and be able to turn off the rhetoric.