Consultants Deconstruct Election 2004

At an Annenberg Public Policy Center forum, strategists said pro-Democrat groups "shattered spending records with extensively market-tested ads attacking" President Bush, "but they missed their mark because they lacked a coherent theme."Republican strategists said right-leaning groups "hammered on a consistent message -- one that depicted the president as a strong leader and attacked" John Kerry as an "unsteady leader who was too liberal to protect the nation." Media Fund President Erik Smith said Media Fund audience-tested 250 different ads before deciding what to run.Even so, he conceded that the ads run by pro-Bush groups had the advantage.... Democratic groups didn't have that clear or consistent message.(Cox/Daytona Beach News-Journal, Dec. 7).