Rich — Just wondering what your thoughts are on the importance of national polls. It seems obvious to me that their significance needs to be discounted somewhat since they measure people who aren’t paying attention. That McCain does better in early primary states than he does in the national polls suggests that people who pay attention are more favorably inclined than people who don’t (and those people are more likely to vote). As that Marist analysis suggests, when voters are told about Giuliani’s record, their support sinks somewhat. Also, early primary polls are more important indicators for who will actually win the primaries. On the other hand, being number 1 in the national polls has to help with fund raising and the like. Thoughts?