“Despite all the public hand-wringing about negative advertising, political veterans will tell you that it persists because, more often than not, it works. But tearing down the other guy has another attraction: It can be a substitute for building much of a case for what the mudslinger will do once in office.”

American historian

Robert A. Dallek is an American historian known for his work on the presidents of the United States. His writing has focused in particular on Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon. He is widely associated with political history and the study of modern American presidential leadership. On this site, 128 quotes are attributed to him.