For a person who promised hope and civility in politics, Mr. Obama has shown a borderline obsessiveness in blaming Mr. Bush.

If you really want to diminish a candidate, depict him as the foil of his handler. This is as old in American politics as politics itself.

Look, there ought to be politics in politics.

The fallback position in politics is if you don't know what you want to be about, and if you don't know what your vision is, go at somebody else.

Negative politics have always been around.