Still deciding on a candidate? Just take a look at their campaign tactics in Indiana to help with that decision!

I woke up this morning to the news that Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds will be putting on a free concert at Assembly Hall in Bloomington on Sunday in support of Barack Obama. Yesterday Entourage star Jeremy Piven visited the Beta Theta Pi house here to stump for Obama. The week before that it was some C-list actor from the movie Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. It seems to me that Obama is relying too heavily on celebrities to do his work in Indiana. In contrast, Hillary Clinton has visited the state twice already and visited over 6 different communities to speak to voters about her stance on the issues. Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, has been to Indiana twice as well and I believe he has visited 8 cities so far. Chelsea was in Indiana last week and made a stop at Indiana University where I was fortunate enough to meet her. I don't know about you, but I feel much better about voting for a candidate who does her own work rather than relying on celebrities to do all of it for her. I feel that it shows yet another example of Obama's lack of substance - "I'll get people to vote for me because I have cool celebrities who will put on a free concert!", while Hillary and her family are out there actually talking to voters about her positions on issues and telling us her precise plans for how she will accomplish all of her goals once she is in office. Obama has only been to Indiana once (and only visited one city) so far, and apparently he is planning another visit later this week or next week in Fort Wayne. If he truly cared about the Hoosier vote he would stop relying on cheesy TV commercials and celebrities, and would show a real interest in the state himself. I know that celebrities also back Hillary, but my point here is that she and her family are out there working hard on the campaign trail themselves and not relying so heavily on celebrities to do the work.

I think it says a lot about Hillary, a 60-year-old woman, who can travel around from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and West Virginia tirelessly, while we see Obama off on vacation in St. Thomas during the same time. I want a president who is going to work for Americans every single day, not one who takes off on vacations and pushes his work off on other people.

Hopefully this provides a little food for thought for everyone today. I know a lot of IU students and Bloomington residents, regardless of their choice of candidate, are going to get all excited and yippy about the Dave Matthews concert, but I for one will not be there. I feel that attending that concert is a direct show of support for Obama, which I will have no part in. If Hillary, Bill, or Chelsea comes back though, you better believe I will be there to support them!

One more thought on the concert - all of the people attending actually have Hillary Clinton to thank for this, though most of them will not realize it. Had she not stayed in the race and continued to fight for the nomination, Barack Obama wouldn't be sending ANY celebrities to Indiana to try to woo the students and citizens of the state over to his side. It's actually demeaning to the intellect of every person in this state that he thinks he can send Dave Matthews, Jeremy Piven, and the guy from the movie Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and expect us to support him because of it. The sad fact is, some people will actually fall for it.

Before I end, here is some great news that I just received in an email from the "Hillary Rapid Responders":

Clinton Campaign Reaction to DNC Meeting on Seating Florida Delegation

Deputy Communications Director Phil Singer issued the following statement in response to the DNC’s meeting with the Florida delegation today on seating its delegation: "We have long maintained that pretending the voters of Florida and Michigan don’t exist is not fair in principle and unwise in practice. This morning’s Quinnipiac poll out of Florida reflects the urgent need for Democrats to get behind our effort to count Florida’s voters and seat its delegation. Chairman Dean is clearly committed to seating the Florida delegation and we urge Senator Obama to join us in calling on the rules and bylaws committee to make this a reality." ******* New Q polls show Clinton in a stronger position than Obama viz-a-viz McCain in general election matchups in FL and OH. FLORIDA: Clinton 44 - McCain 42 McCain 46 - Obama 37 OHIO: Clinton 48 - McCain 39 Obama 43 - McCain 42