Posted by John McCormick at 11:10 a.m. CDT

As Democratic presidential candidates gather in Cedar Rapids this evening, Sen. Barack Obama will be conspicuously missing.

Instead of speaking to some of Iowa's leading Democrats at the Hall of Fame banquet, Obama will be raising money on the West Coast.

That decision has left some Iowans cold.

From The Des Moines Register's front-page story today on Obama's decision to skip one of the state's premiere Democratic events:

"Obama's absence will be noticeable when Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson each take the podium at the Five Seasons Crowne Plaza hotel.

When the speeches start, Obama is scheduled to be wrapping up a series of four fundraisers in Washington state and northern California. "It's a terrible mistake," said former Iowa Democratic Party chairman Gordon Fischer. "It may not matter in the long run, but it's a mistake."

It should surprise anyone in Iowa that there is more money in California and more publicity with the who's who than he could garner in Iowa any day of the week.

He has gone west after the money and that is more important to him then the citizens of Iowa.

So Obama is not doing what the Iowans think he should. To me it shows he is a man of his own convictions and will run his campaign his way, not bow down to the party.

However, I still think it's way to early for all this money collection.

It's not a mistake at all. Obama's chances in Iowa (with it's >96% white population) have always been pretty low. It's a smart move for him to raise some much-needed money so that he can be competitive later on. Going and giving a speech at the Five Seasons isn't going to do much of anything this early on.

It is pretty obvious that this story was planted by the Clinton campaign who are still reeling from their leaked strategy memo that said they were going to skip Iowa.

Here, they try and turn the attention away from them and onto Obama.

Reporters just need to call BS sometimes...