The World Wide Web struggled to stay afloat this morning after a disastrous third-place finish in Iowa by Democrat Howard Dean’s internet-driven presidential campaign. So-called ’weblogs’ (or ’blogs’) were hardest hit, since Mr. Dean’s own Blog For America generated huge traffic numbers, but failed to propel him to victory in Iowa. "Once again, the Internet has proved to be a cash-sucking leech with no socially-redeeming value," said Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi. "Some people may see this as Howard’s failure, but he did everything he could. He blogged for more than 33,000 visitors per day. He accepted small donations through the Web. Clearly, the Internet must accept responsibility for Dean’s poor showing."

Experts say bloggers could be devastated by Dean’s Internet flop. "It’s a black eye for all of us in the so-called blogosphere," said Glenn Reynolds whose InstaPundit blog draws about 90,000 visitors per day. "If the blogosphere implodes, I don’t know what I’ll do with my spare time."