That was a headline in this newspaper on Monday morning. The "mudslinging'' the story described was basically the to and fro of politics with each party trying to score a few late points on the other by statement and counterstatement.

The real mudslinging was contained on the right hand side of Page 9 and on most of Page 40 of Monday's paper.

The Page 9 advertisement had to do with "Jennifer's Finance Minister''. It was dirty and we think it was unnecessary and that it was probably counter productive for the UBP. It was not produced in the name of the United Bermuda Party but it was clearly produced by UBP supporters. There have been statements that it was not approved or seen by the UBP campaign committee.

Someone did their party a disservice.

The Page 40 advertisement featured black hands breaking the chains of slavery and the content dealt largely with the past in an almost incomprehensible way.

It was clear to anyone that it was an ad from the fringe and should be treated as such.

To her great credit Premier Pamela Gordon was quick to denounce the advertisements and she has been steadfast in her call for a clean campaign.

Someone in the UBP acted very quickly to have the advertisement withdrawn before it could be published the second time for which it was scheduled.

It was not, of course, the only dirty trick of this campaign and we can see that the flyers which were circulated by PLP supporters might well have provoked an angry and unpleasant response. However it would have been better if everyone in the UBP had stuck to the high road and stayed clean. There are enough real issues to be debated and addressed without resorting to dirt.

Dirty tricks, innuendo and even lies have become a staple of political campaigns in the United States and perhaps these tactics are catching because we watch so much US television. But we doubt if many Bermudians want to see them in Bermuda or if many Bermudians welcome them as part of Bermuda's electoral process.

Bermuda's elections are personal in the sense that the voters know and meet face to face with the candidates. It is very simple: They do not like people to throw dirt at people they know. Even if they happen to agree, they do not like it.

The result is that this campaign in general is dirtier than most Bermudians want for Bermuda. It is too late to change that now. What can we do? We think the public should concentrate on the issues and on which party individuals see as best able to solve Bermuda's problems and protect Bermuda's future. The choice is a personal and private one and people should do their best to ignore and put aside the dirty tricks and the emotional calls and make a judgment on what they see as best for Bermuda and best for their future.