Why this US presidential campaign is so nasty

Washington

TO understand this nasty and nutty US presidential campaign, you have to go back to 1973, which is before roughly 60 per cent of today's Americans were alive. The backward trip in time illuminates how the United States and, indeed, most advanced nations, became addicted to rapid economic growth and how this, in turn, polluted our politics. It bred disillusion and disappointment.

On the whole, 1973 was a good year for the US economy, with one large exception: sharp rises in global oil prices. Otherwise, many indicators were upbeat. Unemployment averaged 4.9 per cent. Gross domestic product - the economy's output - grew an astonishing 5.8 per cent. The US trade surplus was almost US$2 billion.