"These polls do not have a very direct impact. For instance, you may end up rooting for the Yankees because they're in first place. But most people do not give their loyalties to a team--or a candidate--based on its standings. Even when there are many candidates," Garin adds.

Whether or not voters are directly effected by polls, polls may govern the amount of media attention each candidate receives. Many people believe that, if nothing else, there is a strong media bandwagon effect.

"The only thing the press covers is polls," Callegari asserts. "If you're not a frontrunner then the polls don't mean anything. When they show some upward movement that's when things start ticking and you receive some cover age. The media is not that ambitious to cover...those who aren't high in the polls," he adds.

Members of the media and many other observers claim that polls don't have the virtually limitless influence Callegari suggests. Barone points out that The Washington Post has run editorials and articles about Reubin O. Askew, who has fared poorly in the polls.

"Askew's gotten coverage from us," Barone says. "If he doesn't do well, it's not really the fault of The Post. He's had his chance to make his case to the public."

Garin says that though Jesse L. Jackson has tallied less than five percent in national preference polls, he has received abundant media coverage.

"True, you can get extensive coverage because of the polls," Barone says, "but also by being interesting. Jackson's not popular, but he's covered. The polls are only a small part of what makes media coverage."

The many democratic forums, debates and road shows have resulted in a moderate amount of exposure for each candidate, Orren says. "I think that the media coverage has been rather evenhanded," he adds. "There's no evidence that Mondale is getting excessive coverage. The voters know who the candidates are."

Whether or not polls affect the outcome of elections, candidates faring poorly in polls have traditionally sought to discredit them. During the 1968 presidential campaign, when most polls showed Hubert H. Humphrey trailing Richard M. Nixon by a wide margin, Humphrey once called a press conference to change that the Gallup Poll the views of Blacks. More recently, Boston mayoral candidate Melvin H. King complained that he underperformed in polls that failed to include newly registered voters among those surveyed.

The French have settled the great poll debate by law; it is illegal to publish poll results during the week preceding French presidential elections