(one question: what does "favoring a hand on the shoulder" mean?)
--
"You don't go from being a community organizer to running for president in
15 years unless you have a lot of ambition," said Paula Wolff, a Chicago
Republican and a mentor. "He likes to listen carefully, and naturally you
assume that's very smart of him."
If there is an art to seeking advice, Mr. Obama holds a master's degree.
He favors a hand on the shoulder, a whisper in the ear. In 1996, when he
pondered a race for the Illinois Legislature, Jean Rudd, a mentor in the
foundation world, took him to lunch with a prominent lobbyist. The
appetizers had no sooner arrived than the lobbyist framed the question:
Why would a Harvard-educated lawyer want to step into a hellhole like
that? You'll leave your wife behind, you.ll be in the minority party,
you.ll be treated like dirt. Mr. Obama chuckled and asked questions. The
lobbyist later became an adviser.
Abner J. Mikva, the former judge, asked Mr. Obama, fresh out of Harvard,
to apply as his clerk. Mr. Obama declined, preferring to labor as a
community organizer. But, characteristically, he later befriended the
older man.
The judge recognized his talents, but oh that speaking style. Too many ers
and uhs, too Harvard and not enough South Side. Mr. Obama did not argue
the point; he began paying attention in church. [to learn public speaking]
--
By contrast, in a jawdropping interview on Fresh Air Scott McLelland
revealed that Bush hates to have opposing viewpoints from his own
represented in his advisory groups, and never reads opinion pieces he
doesn't agree with.
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