Negative ads have been receiving a lot of negative press lately, so here is a contrarian view, a defense of the form by John Geer, author of In Defense of Negativity: Attack Ads in Presidential Campaigns. In his column for The Washington Post, he points out that one of the reasons we're seeing so many attack ads this year has to do with the current media environment:

"The reason we have so many negative ads in 2008 has less to do with their efficacy or virtue than with the way the media cover campaigns. Today's coverage gives candidates far more incentive to run negative ads than they had 20 or 30 years ago. Consultants know that reporters and bloggers love harsh, negative ads. Journalists relish the battle and revel in the attacks. When was the last time you saw a news story about a positive ad?"