We briefly touched on this topic yesterday, and Carol Marin made it the subject of today’s column…

Is Barack Obama out of the loop when it comes to his home state of Illinois?
That was the question posed Monday by my NBC5 colleague, political reporter Mary Ann Ahern, after trying hard to get the senator’s views on a variety of newsy topics in Chicago. Obama, who showed up at Monday’s Operation PUSH convention, stopped for a very brief Q-and-A with waiting reporters. Getting Obama to set aside time to talk to the local press back home has been nothing short of a major challenge for many months now.

What about the state budget funding crisis and casinos? asked Ahern.

‘’I haven’t been following the negotiations closely enough to know what’s taking place,'’ Obama said.

How has his political mentor, Senate President Emil Jones, the recipient of major ComEd campaign cash, handled the utility rate freeze issue?

‘’I apologize, guys, but I really have not followed closely what’s been happening in Springfield, I had a little bit of other stuff to do,'’ the senator said with a smile.

As Marin points out, Sen. Durbin seems well-versed in recent Statehouse happenings, while Obama feigns cluelessness.

Question: Should Obama be expected to answer questions like this about what’s happening in the capital of his own state, or should he be excused because he’s running for president? Explain.