A recent conflict between University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan and the Board of Visitors was ultimately handled with civility says Virginia Advocate writer Peter Finnochio.

Finnochio contrasts that civility with the ugly tone of the Obama campaign:

As unscrupulous as the conflict between the Board of Visitors and President Sullivan was, at least both sides expressed their “philosophical differences” civilly during their protestations. While there were certainly individuals who embraced questionable tactics, the Board, faculty, and student leaders set a positive example of prudence, respect, and civility.

The same cannot be said of the tactics currently being employed by the Obama campaign and many of their allies in the media. Only a few days ago, the Vice President of the United States told an audience of African Americans that the Republican ticket was “going to put y’all back in chains.”

President Obama’s deputy campaign manager said unabashedly in response to this, “we have no problem with those comments.” Last Thursday, an MSNBC co-host used a very offensive word in accusing the Romney campaign of trying to exploit Obama’s race.

A recent, debunked ad run by a pro-Obama SuperPAC even featured a steelworker blaming Mitt Romney for the death of his cancer-stricken wife. In an election that at its core comes down to a choice between two different political philosophies and two distinctive sets of policies, we have seen too little substance and too much shameful, slanderous, and outright dishonest hyperbole.

The campaign vitriol sets a terrible example for our country, especially for students at a University with traditions and values that celebrate honor, dialogue, and even the toleration of any error “so long as reason is left free to combat it.”

The economic issues debated in this year’s presidential race have a direct impact on UVA students, many of whom may, even after graduating from the nation’s top public university, be unemployed or underemployed and straddled with college debt for decades.

Instead of having an honest and open discussion about these issues, we sit helplessly and hopelessly witnessing a dishonest game of Machiavellian politics and drowning in a cesspool of corruption.