NEW YORK — Every morning, before her 5-year-old daughter wakes up, Leah Faerstein sits down at her computer in her East Village apartment and logs onto Democratic presidential candidate Wesley K. Clark's Web site.
A few years ago, Faerstein was politically indifferent and didn't own a computer. But now the stay-at-home mom spends hours a day on Clark's Web log, or blog, munching on chocolate Clark bars and chatting with other aficionados of the former NATO commander.
Recently, she was thrilled to hear Clark use a phrase about democracy that she had suggested on the blog.
"I'm not going to take the credit," said Faerstein, 50. "But I think it's osmosis. There's a back and forth between us and the campaign. I couldn't feel more connected."
Faerstein is one of hundreds of thousands of people who have turned to the Internet this year to participate in national politics, relying on a technology that is playing a central role in the way citizens are experiencing the 2004 presidential campaign.
Unlike past elections, when Web sites served more like electronic bulletin boards for candidates and causes, the Internet has evolved into a thriving marketplace of political activity, a place where the like-minded seek out new converts.
On former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's Web site, thousands of supporters post independent events they've organized to promote his candidacy, from debate-watching parties to passing out fliers outside last week's opening of the new "Lord of the Rings" movie. Clark fans used the Internet to wage a "Draft Clark" campaign, an effort the retired Army general says was pivotal in persuading him to jump into the race.
Every month, 250,000 people in hundreds of cities participate in meetups, local gatherings of political activists of every stripe who find each other online.
The result is a new form of intimacy between campaigns and their far-flung supporters, the creation of virtual political communities powered by people devoted to the candidates.
Political experts say this year's activities represent a real shift in the role of the Internet, which was used in the 2000 campaign mostly to raise money.
"One of the most important things you can do now is connect with other people like you," said Audrey Haynes, a political science professor at the University of Georgia who studies how presidential candidates communicate. "It isn't just about money; it is about creating a movement. Once you are involved at this level, it is not likely that you are going to turn your back on the candidate."
