It’s no surprise that journalists are so often “taken” with Obama.  Given his youthful optimism, oratory skills, and history-making run to become the nation’s first African-American President, one would expect him to get a fair amount of media coverage.

Studies prove that Obama did receive a far greater share of media coverage, but it may have been at least partially based on viewer demand.  An NBC News / Wall Street Journal survey from July 2008 revealed that the public’s interest in Obama was considerably higher (51%) than McCain (27%).

From the moment Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy on February 10, 2007, on the same spot where Abraham Lincoln delivered his “House Divided” speech over 125 years ago, it was clear that this was a man on a mission.  The location of this speech, like every other aspect of his carefully crafted campaign, was no coincidence.  Obama’s reverence of Abraham Lincoln is genuine, but like many aspects of his persona, it is also a part of his “brand”.

With the help of campaign mastermind David Axelrod, now one of the President Obama’s closest advisors, the Obama brand has been stealthily marketed from end to end.  Obama’s brand is not just about his sweeping speeches and his message of “hope and change”; it is about everything else that makes Obama unique.  From his Kenyan ancestry and global world view to his penchant for basketball and his Blackberry, Barack Obama’s brand is defined by a personal style that transcends politics.