More on Obama's Inner Circle

The Chicago Tribune ran an interesting piece over a year ago - January 14th, 2007, entitled Inside Obama's inner circle: Ahead of a likely presidential campaign, senator relies on core of trusted advisers.

One intriguing quote - on that moment Axelrod, now Obama's campaign manager, realized Obama a different kind of candidate:

Gibbs and Axelrod were standing together on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004 for the speech that would propel Obama onto the national stage.

The two had emerged from backstage to stand amid the crowd for the speech they’d heard Obama, then the Democratic nominee for the Senate, practice several times. As enthusiasm engulfed the convention delegates, both men say, they knew they were working for something more than the average Senate campaign. People around them were crying.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Gibbs recalls saying to Axelrod.

Neither man is prone to swooning over candidates.

It's an in depth piece from his home town paper and worth a read.