Political Consultants

The book by the conservative strategist is called Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight. Rove tells Fresh Air the decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 was not based on wrong information from the Bush administration, but was based on wrong information from the intelligence community.

Stefan Forbes' documentary looks at the life and controversial career of Lee Atwater, the political operative who ran George H.W. Bush's 1988 campaign — and introduced the nation to Willie Horton.

Republican pollster Frank Luntz advises politicians on the language they should use to win elections and promote their policies. Although he works on one side of the aisle, he says that what he does is essentially nonpartisan, seeking clarity and simplicity in language. His critics disagree, and have accused him of using language that misrepresents policies to "sell" them to the public. Frank Luntz is the author of Words That Work.

Journalist Bill Minutaglio's new book documents the career of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Minutaglio writes for many publications, including The New York Times, Outside and Details.

TV critic David Bianculli looks at the new HBO drama, K Street. Produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh, it premiered last night.

Writer Eric Dezenhall, a damage control expert, is president of the PR firm Nicholas-Dezenhall Communications Management Group based in Washington, D.C. He has in the past described his business as a response to "the culture of the attack." He appears regularly on Hardball and The O'Reilly Factor. Dezenhall worked for the Reagan administration.

Former White House adviser David Gergen. He worked with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. Gergen left politics and become a regular analyst on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer and Nightline. He is also Editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report. His new book is “Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership” (Simon & Schuster).

Retired Republican political consultant Ed Rollins has just written a book chronicling his 30 years in American politics, "Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms: My Life in American Politics." He began his political life a Democrat, working for Bobby Kennedy's campaign in 1968. After an experience at a violent demonstration he became a Republican and worked his way up to become President Reagan's top political advisor.

Charles Lewis, the founder and Executive Director of the Center For Public Integrity. That group monitors the ethics of public officials, and investigates possible conflicts-of-interest. Today, Lewis tells us what his group's found out about the current presidential candidates.

Economist, writer and lecturer John Kenneth Galbraith. Galbraith, who served as an advisor to Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy, is perhaps the most influential Keynesian economist. Under Roosevelt, he played a key role in formulating wartime economic policy. Under Kennedy, he helped formulate the liberal social policies that President Johnson pursued in the Great Society initiatives.

Journalist Sidney Blumenthal argues that political strategists have replaced party bosses during election seasons. The former's job of creating a coherent and appealing media narrative for a candidate continues even after an election comes to an end.