 And that was Barack Obama having served only, what, less than two years in the U.S. Senate? He needed somebody that understood Washington politics. He needed somebody that could serve as his conduit to the legislative branch. Because he didn't make any friends while he was there. He didn't know anybody. He'd been a community organizer and a short-lived state senator in Illinois. He didn't know anybody in D.C., so he needed a true Washington insider.