World Wide Wonks   

I N THE OLD DAYS, SAY, back in 1996 when Bill Clinton beat Bob Dole, only the most high-tech political junkies sat, transfixed, trolling the Net for the latest poll data or for the newest round of mudslinging.
But then came Matt Drudge and that intern, and every wonk in every cubicle from the Capitol steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue became glued to CNN.com. Or MSNBC.com. Or InsertMajorMediaOutlet.com. Not solely for the dirt, but for breaking news and insightful analysis, too. And that was just the beginning.
Old media and new have spawned a host of political sites beyond the usual suspects. Ranging from the upstanding to the outstanding and, of course, the grandstanding, they provide all kinds of campaign 411. Here are a few for the experimenter, the social user and even the political news addict.

Political Primers

www.govote.com
Perfect for the political newbie, this site, which calls itself "America¹s Political Portal," rounds up the issues and contact information for senators and representatives. You can also register to vote through the site. Highlight: Visitors who don't know whether they lean left, right or somewhere on the waffle iron can take a 20-question quiz and get matched up with the candidates whose views most closely mirror theirs. Part of speakout.com, the nonpartisan site is supported by venture capital companies, and has partnerships with media outlets such as Salon and activist groups from the Air Force Association to the Young Hispanic Republican Association.

www.freedomchannel.com
Like govote.com, much of this site is about public awareness (e.g., voter registration). But it's tailored more to the TV generation, boasting an extensive video vault--video on demand--of the candidates on the issues, the candidates going head-to-head, the candidates in their campaign spots. All for you to view whenever you want. The nonprofit, nonpartisan site is sponsored by a slew of foundations--including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Freedom Forum, Century Foundation, Markle Foundation, Carnegie Corp. of New York.

www.vote-smart.org
A virtual library of political info about more than 10,000 politicians, from members of Congress to governors and state legislators. Look for voting records, campaign-finance information, positions on issues. This site's supported by the Ford Foundation, Carne-gie Corp., Pew Charitable Trusts, Revson, more than 3,000 libraries and news outlets including CNN.

Coverage, Coverage, Coverage

For headlines, chats, op/ed pieces, audio and worthwhile basic coverage click on: abcnews.go.com/sections/politics cnn.com/allpolitics www.npr.org/news/national/election2000

For the Diehards

politicalinsider.com
This site's worth frequent visits for its "Daily Briefing" (which can be e-mailed to you) as well as its roundup of political news, culled from more than 1,500 sites "every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day," as the site claims. The sources? The Associated Press, naturally, and Reuters and CNN. Less predictably: Salon, Newsweek and the Hindustan Times in New Delhi. Not exactly three news outlets oft mentioned in the same breath. Run by two Harvard grads, the site's a sort of outlet mall of political news: links to columnists, links to jokes, links to gossip and the somewhat less compelling doses of "this day in political history."

hotlinescoop.com
Brought to you free from the folks at the pricey but in-the-know National Journal, the tantalizing bits here will whet any political reporter's appetite. Basically a rundown of the wonk-world news. But more--Hotline seems to get the interesting, the buzz-worthy, the notable and indeed the quotable. Two dispatches daily, a.m. and p.m. Check out both. The site's partnered with AOL.

wwwpolitics.com
Smart, informative, thorough. Describes candidates (current and all those dropouts) and their poll positions and fundraising tallies. Includes a host of discussion groups ("What do you hate about Clinton?" "House Panel Criticizes Anthrax Plan"). A bevy of links: to news and opinion stories, and to columnists from Jack Anderson to Mort Zuckerman. Then there's some original content, including commentary by former ABC News Political Director Hal Bruno. The Investor Relations links--the company's traded publicly--are easy enough to ignore.

www.votenet.com
What reporter wouldn't be drawn to a section called "Follow the Money"? By Zip code or last name, find out who donated what to whom. Also features a campaign 2000 video search. For real inside baseball, and a quick insomnia cure, click through some of the congressional voting news. Votenet is a product of the publicly traded Netivation.com Inc., which specializes in online public policy and health care products.

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/
In a word, yum. Great updates, great layout, great coverage. Plus online extras: Q&As with National Public Radio political editor Ken Rudin, ad analyses by Post media guru Howard Kurtz and a weekly political brainteaser called the ScuttleButton. Note to editors: Get a better URL.

The Loyal Watchdogs

opensecrets.org
The Center for Responsive Politics has put together a comprehensive site for money and politics. Follow the candidates and their supporters on federal, state and local levels with sections on political action committees, lobbyists and soft money.

www.tray.com
Number crunchers will find it worthwhile to spend some time on this Federal Election Commission site. Includes donors who give outside their state, largest hard-dollar-contributing Zip codes by state, contributors by occupation.

www.publicintegrity.org
The Center for Public Integrity's site includes searchable databases on the candidates' travel, honoraria and campaign donations.

www.commoncause.org/laundromat
Find out how dirty politicians' laundry might be. A searchable database shows special-interest soft-money contributions to the Democratic and Republican Party committees. Search by donor name, by location, by industry.

All Cocktail Talk, All the Time

politics.slate.msn.com
The top stories from around the Net, but more important, commentary and plenty of opinion on the players and the play. Scroll through a thumbsucker or two; you'll find insightful, high-minded commentary. Keep your eyes open for Editor Michael Kinsley's dispatches. There's a reason why his column is called "readme."

www.salon.com/politics2000/
Thick with commentary--sometimes subtle, sometimes not--Salon's worth checking out for the best fodder for cocktail-party chatter. No shortage of left jabs, either.

www.politicalwag.com
Founded by a Boston-based private company, this is a Web community for political discussion--gun control, religion, the media. Contribute something particularly snappy and your quote might end up on the homepage under the "What Wags Are Saying" button. Highlight: the "local stories worth talking about" section. All politics, after all, is local.

Grassroots.com
This site offers a huge list of issues: agricultural and urban affairs, civil liberties and media. Each issue has links to related stories and discussions. You can "go local" and hook up to items related to your area, or browse broadly and pick among chat rooms that include the Bully Pulpit, the Smoke-Filled Back Room and the Radical Fringe. The site isn't just for window shoppers, though: The buttons linking you to each issue, each story, remind you to "take action"--donate to groups that fight for your views, or follow the steps to contact your rep. The oh-so-gung-ho can even share their passion by making proposals and forming mini-action groups or joining them. Grassroots.com is a San Bruno, California-based private company with offices in Washington, D.C. Knight Ridder Ventures is among its major investors.

Everything to All People politicalinformation.com
This search engine trolls for answers to your queries among political Web sites. Perfect if you have no idea what you're seeking but just want to dabble--to experiment with politics. For the social user, and even the addict.