Narrowcasting in Ohio

The article on narrowcasting said the following:

Although ACT and the Bush campaign used different methods to influence voters, both campaigns relied on improvements in technology to directly target voters based on their preferences. At the same time, the technology and the law enables the campaign to better hide the messages they are sending to each individual voter. The result is a reduction in transparency in the messages that a candidate can use to get elected.

The goal of campaign finance reform was to increase transparency in the political process — to help people know who is supporting specific positions. But the narrowcasting revolution is enabling 527 organizations and campaigns to influence more voters while enabling a further erosion of transparency.

This is a very important point. Narrowcasting is powerful; is this aspect problematic? Is it different from "push polls?" I'd be interested in what other classmates think.

(As an aside, I find the use of credit reports extremely disconcerting!)