Target Point

“In the most expensive presidential contest in the nation'shistory, John F. Kerry and his Democratic supporters nearly matched PresidentBush and the Republicans, who outspent them by just $60 million, $1.14 billionto $1.08 billion....In a $2.2 billion election, two relatively small expendituresby Bush and his allies stand out for their impact: the $546,000 ad buy by SwiftBoat Veterans for Truth and the Bush campaign's $3.25 million contract with thefirm TargetPoint Consulting....The first portrayed Kerry in unrelentinglynegative terms, permanently damaging him, while the second produced dramaticinnovations in direct mail and voter technology, enabling Bush to identify andtarget potential voters with pinpoint precision...."They were smart. Theycame into our neighborhoods. They came into Democratic areas with very specifictargeted messages to take Democratic voters away from us," DemocraticNational Committee Chairman Terence R. McAuliffe said. "They were muchmore sophisticated in their message delivery."