Do
your own interview of the experts.
4
How
necessary is so-called 'negative' advertising?
KATHLEEN
HALL JAMIESON replies:
We
don't like to use the word "negative" because when we use "negative," people
hear "dirty" or "illegitimate." When in fact a lot of attack is perfectly
legitimate and important discourse.
If
you don't have attack in politics, you're not likely to find out about the
weaknesses of the opponent. The opponent isn't likely to indicate what those
are on his or her own. So we prefer to say that you can divide the world of
discourse up into that which attacks and makes a case against, that which
advocates and makes a case for, and that which does both in the same message--
it contrasts.
If
one looks at the world that way, then the amount of attack has never been
very high in politics. It's very low in speeches. It's comparatively low in
debates. It's higher in ads, but even in ads it rarely approaches fifty percent
of the message content.
So
those who are concerned about the level of attack in politics, first, are
concerned about something that is not the dominant form, but secondly, are
concerned with something which has actually been declining in recent years
as candidates have recognized that an ad that contrasts is a more powerful
ad.
Ask BOB SQUIER
Ask KATHLEEN HALL JAMIESON
Ask ALEX CASTELLANOS
Ask PAUL TAYLOR