Yes. Especially since there's no summary or anything of the link by default, so all we get is a title (which is often not very descriptive) and a domain name. I'm not going to blindly click on links unless I know what it is about, so I read the comments first until I figure out the actual subject of the link. Really it's relatively rare that I go back and read the link at all.

This is also why I tend to flag political articles and such. Whether or not the linked article is worthwhile on its own, if it's not going to generate a worthwhile discussion (which I think it's been proven time and again that political articles do not), then there's no reason for it to be on HN.