List of Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign staff members

List of persons holding prominent positions within the Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008.

According to an August 2008 statement by Deputy Campaign Manager Steve Hildebrand, the Obama campaign had "large-scale operations in 22 states, medium operations in many others, and small staffs in only a handful of states,"[1] with several thousand paid operatives on the ground between Obama staff and Democratic Party staff. That month, these numbers included "about 200 paid staffers working in Florida and more on the way, 90 in Michigan with plans to expand to 200 by August, at least 200 each eventually in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and 50 in Missouri with plans to expand to 150."[1]

Inner circle

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  • David Axelrod, media strategist. Founder of Chicago-based AKP Media. Handled Obama's 2004 Senate race. Consultant to Chicago Mayor Daley and Rep. Rahm Emanuel.
  • David Plouffe, campaign manager. Partner, AKP Media, lives in Washington.
  • Robert Gibbs, communications chief. Spokesman for Obama's Senate and political operations.
  • Anita Dunn, handled communications and policy. Principal with Washington-based Squier, Knapp, Dunn Communications.
  • Steve Hildebrand, Deputy Campaign Manager. Runs South Dakota-based political consulting firm and is an Iowa specialist.
  • Joel Benenson, Chief Pollster, runs the New York City-based Benenson Strategy Group.
  • Betsy Myers, chief operating officer. Executive director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. Director of President Bill Clinton's Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach. Sister of Dee Dee Myers, Clinton's first press secretary.
  • Penny Pritzker, National Finance Director.

The vice presidential search committee included:

Early advisors

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An early 2007 article in the Chicago Sun-Times lists the following persons in Obama's White House team:[3]

  • Paul Tewes, adviser; business partner of Hildebrand's.
  • Bill Burton, national press secretary. Spokesman, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this cycle.
  • Paul Harstad, pollster. Handled Obama's 2004 campaign.
  • Cornell Belcher, pollster. Democratic National Committee pollster.
  • Devorah Adler, research director. DNC research director.
  • Rakitha Hettiarachchi, The Political Campaign Director of Nevada State Democratic Party.
  • Shauna Daly, deputy research director. DNC deputy research director.
  • Alyssa Mastromonaco, scheduling and advance. Political director for Obama's Hope Fund political action committee.
  • Saul Schorr, media consultant. Runs a Philadelphia firm.
  • Julianna Smoot, finance director. Finance director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee this cycle.
  • Cassandra Butts, policy advisor. Previously the Center for American Progress think tank. Obama law school classmate. Former senior policy adviser to House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt.
  • Pete Giangreco, direct mail, Iowa adviser. Partner, the Strategy Group, Evanston. Veteran of several Iowa primaries.
  • Dan Pfeiffer, traveling press secretary. Former press chief for Senator Evan Bayh (D-Ind.).
  • Matt Rodriguez, New Hampshire state director.

Other key staff positions filled internally and from rival campaigns after the primaries included:[4]

Foreign policy

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By July 2008 the Obama campaign had some 300 persons working on foreign policy, and organized along bureaucratic lines like a "miniature State Department."[5] Notable among these people are:

Former Hillary Clinton supporters:

Energy policy

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Economic policy

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Domestic policy

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New media

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Former members

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Obama's paid campaign staff dwarfing McCain's, Boston Globe July 20, 2008
  2. ^ "Obama running mate adviser quits". BBC News. June 11, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  3. ^ Lynn Sweet, Obama's campaign staff a work in progress Archived September 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Chicago Sun-Times January 27, 2007
  4. ^ Key People-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) General Election Edition
  5. ^ a b Elizabeth Bumiller, A Cast of 300 advised Obama on Foreign Policy New York Times July 18, 2008
  6. ^ Obama's conservative Mideast pick, Time July 16, 2008
  7. ^ Alan Nairn interviewed by Amy Goodman
  8. ^ Hoover Institute's Iran Democracy Project Archived September 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Chief of firm involved in breach is Obama adviser - CNN.com". CNN. March 22, 2008. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  10. ^ Tim Shorrock, Hawks Behind the Dove: Who Makes Obama’s Foreign Policy?, The Progressive July 2008
  11. ^ Brzezinski Offers Support for Obama
  12. ^ Jason and the carbonauts
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ See "Obama VP Vetter Tied to Controversial Mortgage Crisis", [1], USA Today, June 9, 2008
  15. ^ "Obama Aide Quits Under Fire for His Business Ties (Published 2008)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023.

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