When the Progressive Labour Party unveiled its slate of candidates a few weeks ago, former Premier Jennifer Smith warned that the General Election was likely to turn nasty.

She was right, although her likely inference that the nastiness was likely to come from the United Bermuda Party is not strictly accurate. There seems to be plenty to go around.

This week Premier Dr. Ewart Brown went further, accusing the UBP of being the "Filthy McNasty" party, citing "filth" being circulated by Opposition supporters.

Dr. Brown risks being accused of "protesting too much" since, as Opposition Leader Michael Dunkley noted, the Premier kicked off the campaign with a series of personal attacks.

Nonetheless, doctored e-mail photographs showing Dr. Brown in the company of various dictators did go too far. They do not have a place in Bermuda politics and both party leaders were right to condemn them.

The difficulty with the Internet is that once items like this are distributed, they are almost impossible to withdraw or stop. But people would be wise to ignore them and not to pass them on.

By the same token though, the PLP does seem to be trying to have its cake and eat it over allegations of so-called "push polling" in which various unfounded allegations are being publicised under the guise of poll questions.

The PLP said earlier this week that it "abhorred" push polling but then, without saying if it had commissioned the poll or not, drew a distinction between that and "message testing".

Whether the PLP itself or some unnamed supporters are responsible for these polls, they should be condemnned in the same manner as the "filthy e-mails".

Dr. Brown called this week for an election fought on the issues, and that is a statement which deserves wholehearted endorsement.

But that takes a wholehearted commitment from both parties. With three weeks left in the campaign, it is not too late to make this a hard fought but clean election in which the issues, and both parties' plans for the future, can be debated.