If you had to come up with 100 words to describe the current political comate, "respectful" probably wouldn't be one of them -- and FOX 9 News spoke with MinnPost columnist Brian Lambert to find out why that is and whether or not the tone will change.
The animosity is even reaching a boiling point inside school classrooms. A North Carolina high school student's video made national headlines after he recorded a conversation between the class and teacher about respecting the president.
In what turned into a very heated conversation, the students and teacher went back-and-forth about being able to voice their opinion. The teacher insisted students must show respect for the president in her classroom, but the students fired back, saying they should be able to criticize him.
Still -- whether it was President George W. Bush or President Barack Obama, it seems that people who didn't like their policies adopt the language of hate and disrespect. That begs the question: Even if you dislike how they lead, doesn't someone in that position -- the leader of our country -- deserve a certain level of respect?
In retrospect, was it this bad under President Ronald Reagan or President Bill Clinton?
Another peg today came when Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a huge Obama supporter, said it makes him uncomfortable to see the anti-Bain or anti-Romney ads. After taking some heat from the Democrats for it, Booker wrote on Twitter "Yes, Obama must be re-elected. But we as a Nation owe it to him & ourselves 2 reject politics as usual."
So, how do you do that? It's an election year, and negative ads aren't going anywhere -- but how will that impact the next generation of smart young Americans? Will they want to get into politics if the nastiness is the name of the game?
