It's the oldest, worst, and most effective part of American politics: go negative.

Winning campaigns choose to make the tough calls that put candidates on the right side of history.

Know how to play from the back—great politicians turn losses ... into wins.

The country is always listening—so don't say something you don't want every voter to hear.

Lesson two: see something, say something. When unscripted moments flare up in a campaign, voters want to see candidates who can show some spontaneity. They want to know that their nominees can live without their talking points—that the lights are on and somebody's home. Chris Matthews dissects the most memorable campaign turning points with Peggy Noonan, a Reagan speechwriter, and Jon Allen, a political analyst at NBC News.

Lesson one: win Iowa. An astounding number of Democrats and Republicans won their party's nomination after winning first in the Iowa caucuses—but America's first battleground hasn't always been a priority for campaigns. Jimmy Carter was the first to realize that a win there could propel a candidate into the national spotlight. Chris Matthews examines Carter's approach to the 1972 campaign with Gerry Rafshoon, who handled political advertising for the candidate, and veteran journalist Judy...

A podcast on the six most important lessons learned from campaigns that win.