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With all those caveats, why should we pay attention to polls at all? Because, says UNC polling expert Phil Meyer, they stimulate interest in the elections. Studies show that people who read polls are more likely to vote and that they're better informed about the issues in the election.

"It kindles interest in the election," Meyer said. "How interested would you be in a basketball game if you couldn't see the scoreboard?"

Other politics

I've been asked whether The N&O intends to endorse in the presidential primary. Not unless something changes after I've written this column.

Steve Ford, editorial page editor, said the paper hasn't endorsed in primaries in at least a dozen years. Part of the reason, he says, is that the paper could end up arguing against itself.

If The N&O endorsed Clinton or Obama in the primary, then it could find itself in the fall election choosing between the Democrat it had already endorsed and, presumably, John McCain. So if The N&O endorsed McCain, it would be opposing the Democrat it endorsed in the primary. (OK, you don't need to tell me how many times The N&O has endorsed a Republican for president; we're talking hypothetical here.)

The same reasoning applies for all other races on the ballot -- governor, U.S. Senate, General Assembly, county commissioner, etc. The N&O did endorse last week in the Durham school board race, but that is a nonpartisan, nonprimary election that decides who will take office.

Too bad. The N&O could be a king-, or queen-, maker. Before the Iowa caucuses, editors at the Des Moines Register were wined and dined, literally, by Hillary and Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and were wooed by Madeleine Albright, Walter Mondale, Robert Kennedy Jr. and Gen. Wesley Clark. (Ford says the N&O editorial page staff is not amenable to being wined, dined or wooed.)

The Des Moines Register endorsed Clinton; Obama won.

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