PITTSBURGH -- And This Week’s Prize Goes To?

Then again, you didn’t have to dwell on the decision about which campaign appearance got the most bang for its buck.

Was it Hillary's or Michelle's? Was it Clinton with a major local union or Obama, taking center stage at Carnegie Mellon University for a rally in behalf of her husband?

Coming only a couple of hours after Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton held court for an economic summit at the IBEW Union Hall on the South Side, you couldn't help but be struck by the contrasts. Hillary moderating two separate panel discussions -- so quiet at times you could hear a pin drop -- designed to focus attention on the need to, and the means of, creating jobs related to such things as stem cell research and energy efficiency.

(And try as they may, they couldn't bring much energy or even enthusiasm to the subject.)

Worthwhile objectives, no doubt, and one quite relative to the Pittsburgh area, which rates near the bottom of the list when it comes to the creation of new jobs and at the top when it comes to the number of younger people leaving.

To add insult to injury, for those looking for a livelier exchange of ideas, the New York Senator's panelists came from the Empire State. Why not from the Pittsburgh area? From Pennsylvania at least? Why not build interest and hope with a recitation of high tech's impact here, in terms of jobs created and what the future holds for that economic sector? Here, in our backyard!

It makes you wonder how the senator got this far in the campaign and how it is the economic summit wasn't better produced, because of any day of the week Clinton has no problem shining in the spotlight.

This is not about taking sides with either one of the Democratic campaigns. It is about the frustration some could reasonably feel because of an event that seemed more absorbed with going through the motions than it did enlightening people about some very positive possibilities.

So, it was not surprising that, at the CMU rally, Michelle Obama stole Clinton's thunder. Not just because the formats of the respective events were so radically different, but because she brought such energy and passion to the hundreds looking for change and hope.

Clinton represents that too. But on Wednesday, she fell short of the mark, short of the prize. In a race of uncertainty, you wonder why any candidate would let that happen.