I admit that I don't often listen, much less watch, Meet the Press, Face the Nation, or any of the other political shows. I slipped up yesterday morning and did not change the channel after CBS Sunday Morning.

It was not a surprise that each show had a slightly different skew on their polls from Iowa and New Hampshire. These correspondents eventually got around to venturing a guess who might end up the nominee after the New Hampshire primaries, depending upon this or that variable. That got me to thinking. Would watching shows like these have any effect on the voter choice? Rather than do their own research, would the voter go with a lead candidate based solely on the research or comments of these commentators? Could some talking point actually skew the vote?

You may think I am crazy to be wondering about such things. I do have my reasons.

When I was younger, my "home base", while doing the military brat thing, was a small town in New Hampshire. In my late 20's, I moved to that small "tourist town" on Lake Winnipesaukee and lived there for 12 years.

In the summer, the town is swollen with tourists and shop keepers are busy as "one armed paper hangers". But, in the winter, the town's population shrinks, and since there isn't a lot going on, people have a lot more time to catch up on things. (gossip)

It was during one such winter, 1999, that I stopped at the local gas station to pump gas. Since the station was a little behind the times, I had to go inside the station in order to pay. The "regulars" were discussing the upcoming election in 2000. They were commenting on what they had heard were some of the candidate's promises and George W.'s name came up. It seems "Dubya" said that if he were elected, he would allow snowmobiling in the National Parks. Well, I guess that was all it took. The "regulars" agreed that being able to snowmobile in the National Parks was a good reason to vote for George W.

Now I ask you. Am I wrong to think that these guys should have been more concerned about things like the economy, jobs, health insurance, etc.? Or, was I just jealous because I didn't own a snowmobile? Not!

And there you have it. How much credence do voters give to polls, commentators or "promises" made by candidates? Do they stop there or research further to make more informed decision?