Unfortunately for the nation the goal of a presidential campaign is not truth, it’s winning. Jimmy Carter tried it when he recommended those of us in the north of the country put on a sweater rather than burning more fossil fuels. See how that turned out.
Both campaigns will justify their mud-slinging campaign by the ends justify the means.
The darker truth is that perhaps the American people are getting the campaign they deserve. We don’t want a substantive debate on the common good when the common good does not align with our personal self interest, so we do what we need to to get the government that will serve our interests, real, aspirational or ideological.
Yes, it’s a shame, but this is the difference between fiction and politics.
Leadingchurch.com 
You’ve summarized exactly how I feel about politics.
But how do we have a “real debate” when both sides agree that the other side is only interested in serving their own interests, real, aspirational or ideological? How can we make a debate more than just an elaborate way for two people to declare that the other person is wrong?