More Polls in Iowa: Lead with accuracy?

A new poll was released by the Des Moines Register. It shows Obama and Huckabee with narrow leads, with Clinton and Romney falling. The rest of the candidates are staying consistent. This is MORE newsworthy because a week or two back another poll showed Obama in the lead. It was covered by Fox and Reuters. The problem I have with these polls, apart from the content-free horse race aspect, is that they could be completely inaccurate. The margin of error is 4.4% points. That means that not only could Clinton still be in the lead, but John Edwards could be. THese polls also don't know exactly who will caucus, or how forcefully. TO me, it's a little bit disturbing to focus so much on these polls when, if the margin of error is taken into account, they are not definite.

Last week the Zogby poll that showed Clinton would lose to Republicans was heralded. However, reading the fine print would tell you that, unlike the previous polls, it was done online. WTF. We all know how unreliable online-ness is. Is it the media's responsibility to mention the margin of error, and explain what that means, right away? I think yes.