Obama: Role of Law, and a Good Consultant
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There are so many books on Obama's rise to power that it can get confusing. Mendell's book makes two points that are worth applying to political strategy, and perhaps personal strategy as well. Remember the role of education. Recognize that consultants do play a role.
"I just can't get things done here without a law degree. I've got to get a law degree to do anything against these guys because they've got their little loopholes and this and that. A law degree-that's the only way to work against these guys (Mendell, 82)."
That's Obama speaking to one of his old friends from Hawaii during the period he was working as an organizer in Chicago. After three years of working organizing, Obama left for law school at Harvard. He was older and more experienced that his classmates. It showed. He worked at school, ran the Harvard Law Review, went back to Chicago, interned at a law firm, and began again. This time things worked better, and at a higher level.
In a way, Obama was lucky because in his Senate race he had a competitor who was rich and able to attract the best of consultants to talk about joining his race. Something went wrong, however. The strategist realized he didn't was to work for the rich candidate, really. He did want to work, however. Who would he work for? He chose Obama. The consultant? David Axelrod.
Axelrod's first advice went to Barack Obama - and Michelle Obama his closest advisor (Mendell, 179). The advice? "Visualize the people he had met and would be meeting on the campaign trail, to try to bring their stories to life (Mendell, 179)."
Obama wanted to succeed at the highest levels. He realized the need for more education. He leveraged the best advice he could get. Not bad strategies.
Reference
Mendell, David. Obama. From Promise to Power. Amistad. 2007.