--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In campaigns, the attacks that candidates…" description: "\"In campaigns, the attacks that candidates make against their opponents define them almost as much as their positive agenda by creating a negative narra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/neera-tanden-4361_make_in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates_1575992.jpg" --- # In campaigns, the attacks that candidates make against… ![“In campaigns, the attacks that candidates make against their opponents define them almost as much as their positive agenda by creating a negative narrative of their opponents.” quote by Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/neera-tanden-4361_make_in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates_1575992.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/neera-tanden-4361_make_in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates_1575992.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/neera-tanden-4361_make_in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates_1575992.jpg) > “In campaigns, the attacks that candidates make against their opponents define them almost as much as their positive agenda by creating a negative narrative of their opponents.” [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Negative attacks shape a candidate’s image as much as their policy proposals, creating a hostile narrative. **In simple terms:** Attacks define candidates as much as policies. Key Takeaway Balance positive agenda with strategic messaging. Themes politics campaigns image communication Mood strategic critical Type political communication When to use this quote - election planning - media training - debate preparation - public speaking Key Concepts media strategy psychology of persuasion public relations Questions to Reflect On - How can candidates stay issue‑focused? - What are the risks of constant negativity? A Different Perspective Negative focus can backfire if overused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing works on the campaign trail like attacks on candidates for bad attendance. 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I think literature will be around "forever" - but in a relatively niche…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-antosca/i-don-t-really-think-in-terms-of-the-future-of-literature-i-think/) [Nick Antosca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-antosca/) > [It's interesting to think about the history of Israel in relation to the history of the U.S.. There were Native Americans living here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/it-s-interesting-to-think-about-the-history-of-israel-in-relation-to/) [Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/) > [A digital director shouldn't be out front, but a campaign manager's job is to set a narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-parscale/a-digital-director-shouldn-t-be-out-front-but-a-campaign-manager-s/) [Brad Parscale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-parscale/) > [John Lane has long been recognized as one of the South's finest poets and memoirists. This debut establishes him as one of our finest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/john-lane-has-long-been-recognized-as-one-of-the-south-s-finest-poets/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [The narrative needs to change. Asian-American actresses don't want to be the damsels in distress anymore. We don't want to be saved, especially by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-chung/the-narrative-needs-to-change-asian-american-actresses-don-t-want-to/) [Jamie Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-chung/) > [My writing has always been what you call 'narrative fiction' in the sense that it's got very strong plots and twists at the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/my-writing-has-always-been-what-you-call-narrative-fiction-in-the/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. 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Probably not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/would-americans-really-feel-better-with-insurance-companies-deciding/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [I think a core principle of the Democratic Party has to be a defense of equal rights for every American. At the same time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/i-think-a-core-principle-of-the-democratic-party-has-to-be-a-defense/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [How exactly was Johnson able to pass the Great Society legislation and the Voting Rights Act? Of course, he was a savvy deal-maker. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/how-exactly-was-johnson-able-to-pass-the-great-society-legislation/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [I never worked in the private sector for very long, I worked on childcare, afterschool, health care for people, increasing the minimum wage, increasing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/i-never-worked-in-the-private-sector-for-very-long-i-worked-on/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [Making smart investments in early childhood education could not only generate more than $7 of economic benefits over a child's lifetime for every dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/making-smart-investments-in-early-childhood-education-could-not-only/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [One really basic thing is to establish women's property and inheritance rights, so women can be their own agents within society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/one-really-basic-thing-is-to-establish-women-s-property-and/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [We don't have great answers to what jobs will look like in 10, 20, 30 years. And I think it's right for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/we-don-t-have-great-answers-to-what-jobs-will-look-like-in-10-20-30/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act dramatically expanded child care provisions and Head Start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/the-american-reinvestment-and-recovery-act-dramatically-expanded/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [I think that Democrats have to think through answers we haven't in the past: How we are going to create those jobs? How should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/i-think-that-democrats-have-to-think-through-answers-we-haven-t-in/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [No doubt, there are plenty of men who have been fierce and laudable advocates for women's issues. But I know from my many years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/no-doubt-there-are-plenty-of-men-who-have-been-fierce-and-laudable/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) > [What can defeat health care reform? Polls - or more specifically, Democratic politicians misreading them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/what-can-defeat-health-care-reform-polls-or-more-specifically/) [Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) [Explore all 112 Neera Tanden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/) ## More Make quotes > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. 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So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [There is a broad range of reaction to the work, as there is a broad range of work I make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hodges/there-is-a-broad-range-of-reaction-to-the-work-as-there-is-a-broad/) [Jim Hodges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hodges/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [Imperfections are what make you perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-tell/imperfections-are-what-make-you-perfect/) [Nia Tellé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-tell/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I want to make my music and be a happy woman, a good wife, a good mom and one day hopefully have a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leann-rimes/i-want-to-make-my-music-and-be-a-happy-woman-a-good-wife-a-good-mom/) [LeAnn Rimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leann-rimes/) > [You don't want to fix things that aren't broken, so that kind of stops you from make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-weidman/you-don-t-want-to-fix-things-that-aren-t-broken-so-that-kind-of-stops/) [Chris Weidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-weidman/) Browse all 16,612 Make quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In campaigns, the attacks that candidates make against their opponents define them almost as much as their positive agenda by creating a negative narrative of their opponents.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neera Tanden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates-make-against-their-opponents/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Make" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates-make-against-their-opponents/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/neera-tanden-4361_make_in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates_1575992.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/neera-tanden-4361_make_in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates_1575992.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/neera-tanden-4361_make_in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates_1575992.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In campaigns, the attacks that candidates make against their opponents define them almost as much as their…” — Neera Tanden", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neera Tanden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In campaigns, the attacks that candidates...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates-make-against-their-opponents/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/in-campaigns-the-attacks-that-candidates-make-against-their-opponents/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```