GOING NEGATIVE:


How Campaign Advertising Shrinks and Polarizes the Electorate

By Stephen Ansolabehere and Shanto Iyengar

Electronic copies of this document may be distributed freely, provided that this notice accompanies all copies.

"Going Negative shows that the reason Americans hate their politicians is that American politicians are hateful. Ansolobehere and Iyengar show how our politicians are killing each other with negative advertising -- which would be fine except that they are killing democracy, too."

--Richard Reeves, author of President Kennedy



"If you thought there wasn't anything new to say about mean and nasty political campaigns, you'll be surprised by Going Negative. This is a useful and fascinating look at negative campaigning with some provocative findings -- notably that Democrats suffer more than Republicans from the volley of election year attacks. It is an important book at just the right time"

--E.J. Dionne, Jr. author of Why Americans Hate Politics



"Going Negative is social science at its best. Every campaign consultant, candidate, law-maker, and student of politics should read this book before the 1996 campaign get into full swing"

--Norman Ornstein,American Enterprise Institute



"Ansolabehere and Iyengar have carefully documented the sorry story of how negative ads have depressed voters and kept them away from the polls. This is an important study."

--Marvin Kalb, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University



"Ansolabehere and Iyengar have written a rigorous and compelling analysis of modern campaigning, the most important study on the subject, which should be read by everyone concerned about the health of American democracy"

--Thomas E. Mann,The Brookings Institution



Going Negative:
How Campaign Advertising Shrinks and Polarizes the Electorates
Shanto Iyengar and Stephen Ansolabehere
New York: The Free Press, 1995.


For more information write: iyengar@polisci.sscnet.ucla.edu
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November 23, 1995