In his astonishingly swift rise, he was virtually alone – a Democrat, but not a creature of the Democratic Party, a politician of progressive instincts, but not an ideologue. His tendency toward solitude, however, left him disinclined to build new ties and allies in Washington, leaning instead on his family and close friends from Chicago.
奥巴马的个性也是他的问题原因。在他的急速窜升时期，他几乎是单枪匹马——作为一位民主党员而不是民主党人物，作为有进步本能的政客而不是思想家。但是，他的孤僻倾向使他不愿再华盛顿构建新关系和结盟，而是关注家庭和芝加哥的密友。