A Look at a President from Long Ago

With all of the attention on this year's presidential debates, it may be worth taking a few minutes thinking beyond the current candidates and recent past, and go back a little further to the time of President James Garfield.  On Tuesday (February 2nd) PBS will broadcast its special The Murder of a President.  This two-hour program tells about a President shot only four months into his presidency and how he died slow death as a result of questionable medical advice.  

As you read some introduction material, you learn that the presidential contests were somewhat different years ago.  For instance, we read:

As was the standard for the time, Garfield did very little campaigning for the presidency. Instead, he conducted what came to be known as "front porch talks" on the veranda of his farm in Mentor, Ohio where citizens came to see and speak to him. 

With all the grand-standing and animosity in the current campaign season, I think a front porch talk would be a nice change.