Opinion: John Mellencamp’s situational singing

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So much for the supposition that singer John Mellencamp -- a proud Hoosier -- is a Barack Obama man.

When Obama’s campaign announced that Mellencamp would be performing at the candidate’s rally tonight in Evansville, Ind., jump-starting the state’s May 6 presidential primary, it was widely seen as a tacit endorsement of the Illinois senator.

Shortly after the Obama announcement, his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton, entered an event in Pennsylvania with the sound of Mellencamp’s ‘Small Town’ playing. Her campaign also has Mellencamp’s ‘Our Country’ on its artists list. But by performing at an Obama event, questions swirled about how soon the songs would be removed from her playlist.

The answer, apparently, is that Mellencamp tunes will continue to be played at Clinton campaign events. Indeed, her campaign just announced that Mellencamp will perform on Saturday at a rally for the New York senator in Indianapolis.

Mellencamp had previously endorsed John Edwards for the Democratic nomination. And, like his former favorite, the singer apparently is remaining coy as the race slogs on.

-- Rick Pearson

Rick Pearson writes for The Swamp of the Chicago Tribune’s Washington bureau.