Two centuries of negative campaigning

Think the language of politics has gotten uglier in recent years? Actually, mudslinging is a venerable American tradition, right up there with baseball and apple pie. Politicians have been going negative since the days of the Founding Fathers.

Rosemarie Ostler's latest book presents a choice collection of rude slogans, scandalous rumors, insulting labels, and low-down slurs from every era. Welcome to the American way of politics!

Look at slide shows about negative political language on the Huffington Post and Salon.

Read a review or an excerpt on the Books page.