Margin of error: Infinite
John Kerry has a slim lead over Howard Dean and John Edwards in advance of the New Hampshire primary. Wait, Kerry and Dean are neck-and-neck, with Edwards a distant third. No, no, check that. Kerry has a 13-point lead over Dean. Who's John Edwards?

You know, we could have avoided that whole mess in Florida in 2000 by simply not having had the election. We should just let Zogby and Gallup and the Anytown Daily Bugle call people up and ask them how they would vote if the election were to be held. Have some pinheaded math geek run some formulas to determine the "margin of error," and then present the results as a fait accompli. So much easier to pass the results off as "news," when the candidates aren't making much news of their own; so much more suited to American's attention spans.

Try this idea: Read about the candidates. You don't even have to read a newspaper, although I'd prefer that you do. You can click around on the Web. Hell, watch TV, if you must. Research the issues. Form your own opinions. Then vote for the candidate that best matches yours.

Yeah, it takes a little bit of effort. But it sure seems to me to make a lot more sense than letting the media and a few polling firms choose your leaders.