1.   A presidential preference poll conducted shortly after the Bush-Cheney ticket made its public debut last week gave Bush a double-digit lead over Gore among likely voters.

2.   A similar trend appears to be unfolding in New Hampshire, where Republicans will register their presidential preference a week after Iowa votes.

3.   Democrats sign in at their precinct conventions according to their presidential preference or as uncommitted.

4.   Even while staying at home, Bush has consistently led GOP presidential preference polls and has collected far more campaign money than any other Republican presidential candidate.

5.   How will former Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. fare in CityVote, the urban presidential preference primary being conducted today in dozens of cities nationwide.

6.   In a decades-old tradition, Iowans assembled in high schools, church basements and farmhouses across the state to meet in caucuses and declare their presidential preferences.

7.   In presidential preference polls, Nader shows up in single digits.

8.   In the Republican race in Iowa, there is room in the electorate, if not a lot of time, for the presidential preference picture to shift.

9.   Is it because Bush has been the runaway front-runner in the early presidential preference polls?