Dean's polls either count, or they don't, kos, Which is it?

On the front page of this site, you will consistently see report after report of Howard Dean's poll ratings, to the point that kos has now declared that te winner will either be Dean or Clark and "no one else has a chance."  The new policy now is that kos will brook no criticism of either of those candidates, making kos the new fourth monkey in a quartet of see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, blog no evil.

So the polls must count.  THey must mean something.  Dean is winning because he's ahead in the polls.

Well, here's my criticism, which I hope you will all listen to, and understand as not a troll, but a legitimate concern:

From Political Wire:

Bush Widens Lead Over Dean
The new CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll shows President Bush with a "lead of more than 20 percentage points over" Howard Dean "in a hypothetical matchup among registered voters."

USA Today notes "Dean's standing in a matchup with Bush" has "plummeted" following the capture of Saddam Hussein.

Meanwhile, a CBS News/New York Times poll shows "most voters, including most Democrats, are largely unmoved by any of the nine Democrats who are seeking to unseat" Bush.

Polls either matter or they don't.  Which is it?

If, based upon a 20%lead in NH, Dean is nearly unbeatable, then it must be admitted that Dean stands little chance of beating George W. Bush.