Politco shines its light on Chicago:
Obama returns Chicago to center stage
Barack Obama’s decision last week to shift vital Democratic National Committee political operations from Washington to his hometown makes it all but official: Chicago is the new capital of the Democratic Party.
Home to Obama, his 33,000 square foot Michigan Avenue campaign headquarters, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, and one of the nation’s most influential Democratic mayors, Richard M. Daley, Chicago once again seems to be at the center of the political universe
This year, however, Democrats had two candidates with Chicago roots—Obama, who represented a South Side state Senate district as recently as four years ago, and Chicago-born Hillary Clinton, who grew up in suburban Park Ridge.
Obama frequently boasts of his background in Chicago politics, often alluding to the city’s smashmouth politics to make the point that he is tough enough to withstand the rough-and-tumble of a national campaign.
His inner circle is loaded with Chicago-based talent, including chief strategist David Axelrod, a one-time political reporter at The Chicago Tribune; Axelrod’s business partner David Plouffe, who serves as Obama’s campaign manager; and Valerie Jarrett, a family confidant who once served as Daley's deputy chief of staff. Other key Obama advisers include University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee and national finance chairman Penny Pritzker, the heiress from one of Chicago’s wealthiest families.
Obama recently added another Chicagoan with deep local political ties, former Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, to his general election team.
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