Money remains key ingredients in US polls campaign

Spending on the 2004 presidential campaign will top one billion dollars, smashing all spending records, according to a study released last week.

And the study by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics found that combined spending on 2004 White House and congressional races will reach a record 3.9 billion -- almost a third more than the previous general election.

The electoral pricetag has been inflated by, among other things the flood of cash pouring into campaign from deep-pocketed donors and the ever-spiraling cost of television ads -- the preferred medium by which candidates deliver their message.