Lots of early polls. National polls. State polls. Do they matter this early?

So, big surprise. Hillary Clinton leads in the latest national poll:

Polling data showed Clinton leading Obama 39 percent to 26 percent in a Democratic primary race that does not include former Vice President Al Gore. With Gore in the match-up, Clinton leads Obama 33 percent to 21 percent.

An earlier USAToday/Gallup survey conducted June 1-3 had put Obama 1 percentage point ahead of Clinton, at 30 percent to 29 percent.

The political pundits are in overdrive talking about this new poll. But does it matter? It's June of 2007, six months before the first votes are cast. And, national polls give politicos something to obsess over, but the nomination party is decided by voters in states. Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina matter more.

In the latest South Carolina poll, which has a margin of error of +/- 5.5% (quite a big margin of error, by the way) Barack Obama is in the lead:

Barack Obama leads the Democratic presidential field in South Carolina, while Fred Thompson is challenging Rudy Giuliani for the top spot among Republican contenders, according to a new poll.

Obama, the Illinois senator who has drawn thousands of supporters to recent appearances in this early voting state, had the support of 34 percent of likely Democratic voters, compared to 25 percent for his nearest rival, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. South Carolina native John Edwards, who won the primary here in 2004, garnered only 12 percent of support in the Mason-Dixon poll.

Last month's reliable Des Moines Register Poll showed John Edwards with lead -- and he's been leading in Iowa for awhile:

Presidential candidate John Edwards leads rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in a new Des Moines Register poll of Iowans likely to take part in the Democratic caucuses.

The Iowa Poll shows Edwards, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina, is the first choice of 29 percent of those who say they definitely or probably will attend the January caucuses, which kick off the nominating process for the nation.

Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, edges out Clinton for second place in the poll — 23 percent to 21 percent.

It's maddening to watch the parsing of the polls so early, especially the national polls, which are basically name recognition contests.

This presidential nomination process has already gone on too long. And, Gore, who isn't campaigning, keeps moving up. Interesting.