Early numbers: Polls at this point mean little; what matter are issues, leadership

Here come the polls.

And as you start to listen to them -- a warning.

You can make numbers say anything this early in the game, so take them for what they are worth -- a source of amusement, not a fait accompli.

With only a handful of hats thrown in the ring, including the expected announcement today that Hillary Clinton is entering the race for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States, the polling is already starting and the pundits are busy interpreting what they see.

And it is only April 2015.

There are going to be more announcements in the coming days, and more polls.

But what you have to understand is that they are no real indicator of what you should consider as you start to think about whom you will support if you plan to vote in a primary.

There is still much to be learned -- and many positions and decisions to be explained.

And, in spite of what some of this early polling indicates, many voters are not even close to deciding what they will do when they face a primary ballot.

And that is as it should be.

There are many of us who are still not sure of much when it comes to choosing the next president.

While we are pretty sure we do not want to see a name we have already seen in the White House -- and that anyone with one of those names had better have one heck of a case for why we should cast our votes in their favor -- we are still undecided about what we want to see in a presidential candidate.

In the last few years, we have become a bit jaded -- a little less likely to believe that candy-coated mission statements and slick presentations are a guarantor of success in the Oval Office.

And that means that this next vote will have to be long on substance -- and short on leadership slights of hand and baggage.

So how do you endure the seemingly endless barrage of poll data before the campaign is even real?

You ignore it -- and read and listen instead.

These hopefuls will be asked a lot over the next few months, so absorb as much as you can.

Determine your key issues -- the deal-breakers for you as a voter -- and pay attention when the candidates address those issues.

If you like what you hear, consider a vote.

And if what you hear is slip-sliding and a position-of-the-moment strategy -- run, run far away.

There is still a long way to go before November 2016. And it will be interesting to see who is left standing when it comes time to choose between two candidates.

But what we have to remember is that it is critically important that we do our research, analyze our own metrics and get involved if we feel strongly one way or the other.

After all, this is our president-to-be, and we should want the best candidates possible -- and we should fight to make that happen -- no matter what those polls say.

Published in Editorials on April 12, 2015 12:03 AM