The 2004 presidential race was the most expensive in history. While Republicans did outspend Democrats -- $1.14 billion to $1.08 billion -- the difference wasn't that much. "Despite their fundraising success, Democrats simply did not spend their money as effectively as Bush," the Washington Post's Thomas Edsall and James Grimaldi report.

BuzzMetrics, a New York-based specialist in word-of-mouth marketing, is among the companies working to tame the internet by going after "determined detractors," which the New York Times defines as "persistent critics of a company or product that mount their own public relations offensive, often online." According to Paul Rand, managing director at Ketchum Midwest in Chicago, "One determined detractor can do as much damage as 100,000 positive mentions can do good." Detractors, he said, can become "reputation t