However, try as we might, we still haven’t settled on our pick for the next president.

We have to admit, we’ve never let this matter slide as much as we have this year, but we’ve been caught up with all the new tour data that’s been arriving via email, fax and rail. What with the new schedules for De La Soul and The Dresden Dolls, we’ve hardly had any time to look over the candidates’ records so that we may issue our endorsement.

But we realize that you won’t wait any longer. You need an answer and you need it quick. You and the 200 million other concert fans that rely on Pollstar.com for dates for Joe Satriani, Aaron Carter and Scissor Sisters, as well as advice on who to vote for in the upcoming election. After all, that’s been our job for over 70 years – presenting concert info and picking presidents – and we’re not about to shirk our duties in regards to what could be one of the most important presidential elections in recent history.

And Pollstar.com has a grand tradition of endorsing presidential candidates. From Herbert Hoover in 1932 to Lyndon LaRouche in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000, this Web site has always been the American voter’s last resort for election advice. You need the unique wisdom forged from the years of experience of tracking tours for Robyn Hitchcock and Peter Case. Experience that no other Web site dares to claim.

But we still haven’t decided on a candidate. Oh, sure, you might think it’s a no-brainer, and that all we have to do is compare Bush’s amphitheatre lawn seat pricing policy against Kerry’s proposed service charge cuts in order to pick a president. But it’s not that easy. There are other factors that need to be considered. Factors like whether or not U2 will tour in 2005, or if Pink Floyd will ever reunite. Those are just some of the issues facing us as we try to arrive at a decision for Campaign 2004.

Unfortunately, time is running out, and we only have a few more days to announce a decision that will guide many a voter’s hand when he or she steps into that voting booth. The answer might seem as clear as day, what with one candidate representing a Marilyn Manson kind of administration while the other favors a Yanni style of government. However, there is still one issue that has yet to be cleared up to our satisfaction. An issue that’s so important, so utterly necessary when endorsing a presidential candidate, that we cannot, will not, announce our decision until we have a clear response from both candidates in regards to this matter.

You see, we still haven’t heard from either candidate as to how much they’re willing to pay us for our endorsement.

After all, this is still a democracy.