During the 2004 federal election, the media shone light on the political consultants who were reportedly affiliated or somehow related to Paul Martin's election campaign. By their account, the traditional party machine, often viewed to be the primary, if not the only, actor in political campaigns in Canada, seemed to have taken a backseat to the expensive, polished and professional campaign machinery the private sector had to offer. Campaign management through consultancy was now publicly visible in Canada and reliance on the party machine, while still important, seemed to face competition in terms of expertise and proximity to power. However, the study of political campaigns and specifically, the role of political consultants within campaigns, has received sparse attention from the political science community outside of the United States. Yet even in the US, in spite of the prevalent and pervasive presence of political consultants in electoral politics, the study of this group is relatively new.

David Dulio's book examines the relationship professional political consultants have with other electoral actors and examines the consultants' attitudes and beliefs about candidates, voters and political parties as well as their own place in the electoral system. Typically, professional campaign consultants have been in the backrooms of campaigns and have not allowed others to see who they are, what they do, why they do it, or how they relate to the media, interest groups, their clients or citizens in general. This book assists in opening those backroom doors and gives insight into who these consultants are, what their political views and motives are, and what their opinions of and relationships are with candidates, voters and the media. The book covers much ground in that it not only examines the relationship between professional campaign consultants and other electoral actors but also explores how consultants have changed the dynamics of the electoral process. In doing so, Dulio challenges some of the traditional myths about political consultants predominant in American politics. For example, Dulio challenges the claim that consultants are to blame for the demise of the political party; instead, he argues that parties were already weak when consultants appeared (40). Further, he comments that there is no “us against them” relationship between the consulting industry and political parties, because both the Republicans and Democrats have accessed the services of consultants in recent campaigns.

Dulio's book on how professional campaign consultants have infiltrated the traditional party machine during election time in the United States is an enlightening piece for many reasons. The book begins by describing the massive amount of money spent on political consultants and how “the use of political consultants has become a near necessity in modern congressional politics” (4). The author further describes how political consultants have become increasingly visible in electoral campaigns and gives examples of how some consultants have taken centre stage in campaigns in terms of media exposure, ability to attract funding and being the spokesperson for the campaign. Dulio also establishes the context for the rest of the book by giving an overview of the political consulting industry and by discussing the trends and changes that have taken place since its birth. This overview of the industry and the relationships consultants have with candidates, the media, citizens and interest groups demonstrates the pluralistic network of power relationships in the United States and the role of consultants within this political environment.

The book is not a “how to” of political campaigning; instead, it is a scholarly analysis of the role campaign consultants play in electoral politics. One of the many strengths of this book is that it presents a balanced perspective of both the negative and positive influence professional campaign consultants have had on public policy, and more generally, on democracy in the United States. It is also balanced and non-partisan in the sense that it looks at the role political consultants have played within the two major parties. While Dulio states his work builds on previous work in this area, what makes Dulio's work distinct from other works on this subject, which are merely descriptive or anecdotal, is that his methodology includes interviews and surveys. He uses survey data from 505 elite interviews conducted with principals in political consulting firms from across the United States. The book is rich with tables and statistical information. What also makes the book interesting to read is that the author has included the survey instruments and regression analyses in the back of the book, allowing the reader to make the link between the research instruments, data synthesis and the final analysis.

In closing, Dulio argues that to fully understand the dynamics of election campaigns, we must understand the role that political consultants play. His book certainly contributes to a fuller understanding of the role consultants do and can play in electoral politics and sets the standard for future research in this area.