Book Review: We’re with Nobody by Alan Huffman and Michael Rejebian

We’re with Nobody:
Two Insiders Reveal
the Dark Side of American Politics
By Alan Huffman and Michael Rejebian
Harper Collins; 208pp; $15.99

This much is obvious: Figures such as Gennifer Flowers, Willie Horton, Sharon Bialek, and all manner (and gender) of congressional pages do not make their way onto the national stage fueled by a sense of justice or a love of democracy. They are ferreted out and forced into our political conversation by those who want to influence the electorate. For all our complaints about smear tactics, studies—like John G. Geer’s landmark analysis In Defense of Negativity: Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns—show that negative ads are more likely than positive ones to focus on important political issues and to provide voters with relevant information.