What happened to Cicero’s election campaign? He won. But his rival who apparently refused to accept the result took to armed rebellion and was killed in battle. Cicero, two decades later, was also killed in the civil wars. And the democracy became dictatorship, while the Roman Republic was replaced the Roman Empire.
President Bill Clinton won his elections thanks to campaign strategist James Carville who introduced Cicero’s campaign manual written by the latter’s brother. Carville honestly or unabashedly admitted that he began applying negative campaign tactics soon after his college graduation.
What will become of America’s democracy? What will become of Taiwan’s democracy modeled after the U.S.?
A reminder: In 2008, Barack Obama refused to engage in smearing campaigns. He only pushed back when attacked by his opponent. (May 15, 2012)