Poll smoking

Stephen Colbert, in his first show back from a writer-strike-induced hiatus, told his guest the following (paraphrased):

You can get 50% of Americans to say anything! [turns to audience] Who wants to be a pirate? [audience roars] You see? 100% approval.

With the 2008 primary campaigns in full swing, polls are on everyone's mind. We heard about the legendary Des Moines Register poll, which supposedly had great influence and accuracy picking the winners of the Iowa caucuses. I was skeptical of this legend, yet Obama (huzzah!) and Huckabee won their respective contests.

Months and months of meaningless polls having been conducted, two candidates bucked consistent polling trends and came out on top. Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney have fallen by the wayside. When will the media stop obsessing over surveys that will not have any actual bearing over the election? My guess: never -- they would eliminate so much campaign coverage that they will be around forever. This is such a shame, given that voters obviously pay them no heed. (Amazingly, the voters are making an informed decision in doing so!)