Welcome to the best of the left podcast with clips today from 60 minutes, Rachel Maddo,

the Onion Radio News, The Young Turks, and Counter-Spin When Barack Obama began thinking about

running from president two years ago, he turned to a small inter-circle of political advisers from

his 2004 Senate campaign. Like Obama, they were talented, laid back, and idealistic, with limited

exposure on the national stage. But with the candidates' help, the team orchestrated one of the most

improbable and effective campaigns in American political history. They took a little-known senator

with a foreign-sounding name in almost no national experience and got him elected the 44th president

of the United States. They did it by recruiting and investing millions of volunteers in the outcome

by raising more money than any campaign in history and by largely ignoring the fact that their

candidate happened to be a black man. When President elect Obama gave his victory speech Tuesday night

in Chicago's Grand Park, he was quick to give credit. To the best campaign team ever assembled in

the history of politics, you made this happen. Who was Obama talking about and how did they do it?

90 minutes after the speech ended, we were sitting down with the Minister Kago hotel suite.

It was one o'clock in the morning and the reality of it all was just beginning to sink in.

We just left Grand Park. What are you feeling? A little numb, a little tired, a little overwhelmed.

The group included David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist and political alter ego,

and David Plough, the camera shy campaign manager and field general who made it all happen.

Yeah, it's been a 22-month road and a lot of twists and turns, but I think he filled the stage tonight.

There was senior aide Robert Gibbs, who was always at Obama's side, his former and future press secretary.

And it was fun to watch all the people come out. It would have been part of the campaign.

Well, the Roberts are spokesman. When did you lose your voice?

Within the last few hours.

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