You are most likely reading this blog post because you're interested in -- and know something about -- global issues, politics, messaging and the like. You probably care deeply who wins the presidency this November -- his or her actions will affect the issues you work on and care about in a profound way.

But flip the equation for a minute; imagine you're the aspiring president. You have hundreds of communities, working groups, lobbying campaigns, issue boosters hounding you for your attention. They each have an idea to pitch, a change they want made. How do you decide who to listen to and how to respond to this cascade of demands? This gets a little easier when you actually become president and you have the full resources of the United States government at your disposal. At that point, your time is scarce but your talent pool is not. But as a candidate, you have tough choices to make. You may personally know something about many of the issues on which you will be expected to take a position, but you must rely heavily on advisers. This small group (advisers are expensive, so it will probably be small) needs to be conversant with very complicated problems -- regulating the mortgage and financial securities markets more effectively, for instance (these advisers are now front and center).

Advisers have a chance to influence candidates in a way that will be impossible once they are elected. They are the favored few, the inner circle that decides what a candidate is about. I've found it fascinating to read who is in Barack Obama's inner circle and from whence they come.