Mr. Obama, where are you?

That's the question many a West River voter is left wondering this week as the national focus of Election 2008 turns toward South Dakota.

We understand that, as politicos and pundits have been proclaiming for weeks, the primary is supposed to be over already. Other than radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh's out-there "Operation Chaos," Hillary Clinton's campaign has been reduced to an afterthought for a growing number of experts and strategists.

Even Barack Obama himself has shifted the focus of his speeches away from the candidate Clinton and toward the presumptive Republican nominee for president, John McCain.

We might agree with what he has to say, but since he hasn't been here, it's hard to tell.

You see, his opponent is in the midst of a full-scale campaign blitz generally reserved for states that have a much greater delegate punch than South Dakota. Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have already made repeated stops west of the Missouri River. And now she's stepping up the ante with her "Clinton a Day" campaign in which she, Bill and daughter Chelsea will be in the Mount Rushmore state every day up until the June 3 election day.

Admittedly, if Obama wins the Democratic nomination as widely expected - whether or not he wins South Dakota - campaigning in a overwhelming Republican region may seem like a waste of time and effort.

But we promise it isn't. For one thing, western South Dakota is home to several of the nation's most prominent reservations and Obama has campaigned since early on about a specific plan to aid Native Americans.

Secondly, if his campaign is one of change, what better place to start than the heart of conservative values in western South Dakota. If a candidate can affect change here, he or she can affect change anywhere.

Most importantly, though, we just want to hear what he has to say. We're appreciative that the Clinton's have made South Dakota a priority in their campaign stops and we've heard some good ideas. Now we would like to hear Obama's stance in person on issues important to western South Dakota.