All's Fair

Every couple of campaign cycles a campaign staff member materializes who is so brilliant at their job that they can see the perfect strategy to get their underdog candidate nominated and/or elected. James Carville and George Stephanopoulos for Bill Clinton in '92...and, yes, I admit it, Karl Rove for Bush in 2000 (even if his tactics were despicable)...and now, David Plouffe for Barack Obama in 2008. Well, okay, time will tell if he comes up with an equally successful general election strategy, but unseating Hillary Clinton was one of those historic upset victories that will surely be discussed in political textbooks if not history books for years to come. The Chicago Tribune did a very well-done profile of Plouffe, and after reading it, I have to say that what impresses me most about him is his humility. According to the article, Plouffe's preference is to stay low-profile and keep the focus on Obama, to the point where he refused to fly to the victory rally in Minnesota last week, instead staying with the staff in Chicago and discussing the historic nature of that moment. That is unusual for campaign managers, and in my opinion very, very admirable and notable.