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In Defense of Negativity
John G. Geer
Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns
University Of Chicago Press
April 2006
218 pages ISBN: 0226284999 Trade Size
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Non-Fiction Political
Americans tend to see negative campaign ads as just that:
negative. Pundits, journalists, voters, and scholars
frequently complain that such ads undermine elections and
even democratic government itself. But John G. Geer here
takes the opposite stance, arguing that when political
candidates attack each other, raising doubts about each
other’s views and qualifications, voters—and the democratic
process—benefit. In Defense of Negativity, Geer’s study of
negative advertising in presidential campaigns from 1960 to
2004, asserts that the proliferating attack ads are far more
likely than positive ads to focus on salient political
issues, rather than politicians’ personal characteristics.
Accordingly, the ads enrich the democratic process,
providing voters with relevant and substantial information
before they head to the polls. An important and timely
contribution to American political discourse, In Defense of
Negativity concludes that if we want campaigns to grapple
with relevant issues and address real problems, negative ads
just might be the solution.
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