In these times I suppose you are correct.
In "these" times?
Ad hominems and mud-slinging of political/media figures is as old as the Founding Fathers: "The bitterness and rivalries seen in the partisan 1796 campaign got worse in the 1800 rematch between Adams and Jefferson. At one point in that race, Jefferson’s supporter, notorious pamphleteer James Calendar, claimed that Adams was a hermaphrodite, while Adams’ people said Jefferson would openly promote prostitution, incest, and adultery."