Politics

“In a 21st-century world where jobs can be shipped wherever there’s an Internet connection, where a child born in Dallas is now competing with a child in New Delhi, where your best job qualification is not what you do, but what you know—education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success, it’s a…

The chips are in. Every three years, the Federal Reserve, in its Survey of Consumer Finances, takes a look at how households in the United States are doing and reports on our assets and liabilities. The euphoria of our gambling spree is over. In the harsh glare of morning, the hangover’s tough. And the data…

Marlon Marshall Age: 29 Hometown: St. Louis, Mo. Campaign Positions: Field Director (Hillary for President); General Election Director—Missouri (Obama For America) Campaign Turf: Nevada, Ohio, Indiana (Hillary for President) Missouri (Obama For America) New Washington Gig: Deputy White House Liaison to the State Department According to Marlon Marshall, the best part of the 2008 campaign…

Jason Green Age: 28 Hometown: Gaithersburg, Md. Campaign Positions: Field Director—Connecticut, National Get Out the Vote Director Campaign Turf: Nevada, South Carolina, Connecticut, Maryland, Wisconsin, Texas, North Carolina New Washington Gig: Deputy Associate Counsel to the President The Root last caught up with Jason Green when he and Addisu Demissie (also on this list) were…

Myesha Ward Age: 33 Hometown: Olney, Md. Positions: Delegate Counter, Midwest Political Director Campaign Turf: Chicago; Iowa, South Carolina, Missouri New Washington Gig: Coordinator for Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative If Myesha Ward were any less persuasive, it’s pretty safe to say Barack Obama would not be president. Her official title on…

Yohannes Abraham Age: 23 Hometown: Springfield, Va. Campaign Positions: Field Organizer, Regional Political Director, Field Director—Virginia Campaign Turf: Iowa, South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia New Washington Gig: Assistant to the Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs Days after graduating from Yale University in 2007, Yohannes Abraham decamped to Iowa, where he would spend the…

Samantha Tubman Age: 29 Hometown: Washington, D.C. Campaign Positions: Press Wrangler, Obama advance team Campaign Turf: Every state but Alaska and Arkansas New Washington Gig: Assistant Social Secretary Samantha Tubman viewed the 2008 campaign from an unexpected perch—at 30,000 feet. Traveling on the campaign plane with Obama, herding the press in almost every state in…

Addisu Demissie Age: 28 Hometown: Atlanta, Ga. Campaign Positions: Deputy Field Director, State Director (Hillary for President); Get Out the Vote Director—Ohio (Obama For America) Campaign Turf: Iowa, Nevada, Connecticut, Indiana (Hillary for President) Ohio (Obama for America) New Washington Gig: National Political Director at Organizing for America Addisu Demissie has a thing for playing…

Michael Blake Age: 26 Hometown: The Bronx, N.Y. Campaign Positions: Deputy Political Director, Constituency Outreach Director Campaign Turf: Iowa, South Carolina, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan New Washington Gig: Deputy Associate Director for Intergovernmental Affairs; Office of Public Liaison Mike Blake is the kind of guy who, no matter what the emergency, speaks slowly…

Elizabeth Wilkins Age: 25 Hometown: Washington, D.C. Campaign Positions: Field Organizer, Field Director—Michigan Campaign Turf: Chicago, South Carolina, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan New Washington Gig: Policy assistant, Domestic Policy Council Elizabeth Wilkins’ yearning for government service is probably genetic. Roy Wilkins, the 1960s head of the NAACP, is her great-uncle, and her father Roger, now…