While the Democrats take straw polls on the Internet

Another OP-Ed piece in the NY Times today, Happy Days are Virtually here again says that "Political wonks eagerly await the government's quarterly report next week on the fund-raising totals by the nine Democratic presidential candidates. For Americans not engaged by raw money as a worthy denominator of political life, there is an alternate universe of pre-primary competition at work — a virtual primary on the Internet this week run by a pressure group on the Democratic left called MoveOn.

This is about the time in the presidential election calendar when anyone from state parties to third-grade classes starts taking straw polls. The MoveOn effort is more extensive than most — enthusiasts clicked on for the two-day primary that drew more than 300,000 voters. The virtual tally — results of which were not expected until today — would top the combined turnouts in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in 2000.