There never was a golden age, politics has always been dirty and uncivil.

No sense of history, I swear.  Historical references for the quotes here.

Attack Ads, Circa 1800 - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine:

"Have this year's negative political ads really 'taken dirty to a whole new level, as CNN's Anderson Cooper frets? Is a 'return to civility...a relic of a bygone era,' as President Barack Obama laments?

Er, not exactly.

...attack ads are as American as apple pie. If you fancy yourself a patriot or a history buff, you will most certainly approve this message, which is taken from statements made by, for, and against the nation's founders."