I arrived at IU Assembly Hall at 1:55 p.m., rushing and worried that I wouldn't be able to get through the line in time. There were people selling Hillary buttons and t-shirts, a few protesters -- one with a sign that said "Clinton Bombed Iraq." There was another that, somewhat offensively, said, "Females don't register for Selective Service & shouldn't be 'Commander' of our armed forces -- NO."

To my surprise, the U-Shaped line that snaked into two entrances and doubled over itself the full length of the building was unhindered by security, and by 2:05 I was in my seat.

The energy in the hall was electric. There were thousands of people, ranging in age from 17 to 70-plus, and everywhere I looked were smiles, nervous energy and palpable anticipation. I was delighted to see a crowd in the lower tiers making a robust attempt at starting the wave, with varying success.

Like the rest of the civic minded in this country, I have been giving some thought to which candidate I should support in the Primary. Of course, by the time Indiana's Primary comes up, it will all be over but the crying, so part of me says that it doesn't really matter.

Rationality aside, however, it's important to me that I make an informed decision when I step into that voting booth on Primary Day and vote for the candidate I really want to see in the White House, whether he or she stand a chance or not. Up until this point, I have been tentatively supporting Hillary Clinton. I have done this knowing that my support is in small part based on a bad case of Clinton Nostalgia.

The main reason, however, is that she is a woman, and I am so proud of the years of effort she has put into becoming the first female president. I freely admit that when I was younger, I had very negative thoughts about feminism as a whole -- mostly that it perpetuated an unjustified victim mentality.

Dear Madame Speaker:

I watched your interview with Gwen Ifill on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer last night. This was the first time that I have actually seen you in an interview of any depth, and I have to say that in many ways I was impressed. Your answers to Gwen's questions were generally eloquent and well thought out, even though many of the questions she asked were uncomfortable or difficult to answer with substance.

I speak as one of many, many people who yesterday used the phrase, "the Democrats caved." While your answer to Gwen Ifill was logical and sensible, I still feel that the Democrats caved, and have been caving, over and over again.

I understand that you do not have a strong majority. I understand that the Republicans and the president have stubbornly resisted every decent bill that has been brought to a vote this year. What I don't understand is how it can be that your conviction and will do not extend far enough to continue to fight in the face of their unrelenting opposition.