'This Week' Transcript: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

VANDEN HEUVEL: And I think there's a trans-partisan alliance you can build.

STEPHANOPOULOS: We will find out. Thank you all very much. Terrific roundtable. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: I'll be back to answer your questions, but first, we honor our fellow Americans who serve and sacrifice.

This week, the Pentagon released the names of four servicemembers killed in Afghanistan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally today, "Your Voice This Week," where you get to ask the questions. I take a shot at answering them. And today's question comes from Christine Tee. She asks, which factor has the greatest impact on voters, ads, campaign appearances, or media stories, et cetera?

Nothing matters more, Christine, I think than the economy. If incomes and the economy are growing during the election year, the incumbent party almost always wins. If not, it almost always loses, whatever happens in the campaign.

President Obama: Tornado Victims 'Will Have Support' Watch Video

DOJ vs. Fox News Reporter James Rosen Watch Video

Misconduct at the IRS: Who Knew What When? Watch Video

But general media coverage of the campaign comes next. You know, from all the stories, people end up having a pretty good idea of who the candidates are and what they stand for by the end of the campaign.

TV ads can matter a lot, especially in primaries where one candidate might have a big money edge. We saw that this year with Mitt Romney. But they matter a little less in the general election, where parties tend to be more evenly matched in money.

But social media is beginning to matter even more, because the campaigns can collect so much information on what individual voters think and feel and then target the messages to those individual voters in a much more cost-effective way. Team Obama pioneered that in 2008. The GOP is catching up fast, and that is the wave of the future.

That is all for us today. "World News" with David Muir has the latest headlines tonight. And tomorrow, Mitt and Ann Romney sit down exclusively with Diane Sawyer for their first joint network interview this election year. Watch for that on "World News" and "Nightline."

Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. I'll see you tomorrow on "GMA." And before we go, happy Easter to my fellow orthodox Christians. Christos anesti.