Common Sense

An idea whose time has come.

AUSTIN – The car you drive, the magazines you read, the catalogs you buy from, the house and neighborhood where you live and your voting pattern have been gathered by Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign – and others. It helps them know which button to push to win your vote.

Such consumer-based, micro-targeting helped President Bush’s campaign identify and attract 10 million new voters in 2004. Mr. Perry’s team is adapting the Bush model to the state level, and their work could show up at a mailbox, telephone, doorbell or even iPod near you.

It’s not really an amazing idea that has never been tried before, but it is a good one. Which leads me to ask, are any Democratic campaigns doing the same?