Obama was consistently optimistic and on message throughout the campaign (contrasted to the fidgety, sometimes crotchety McCain)

Obama made few gaffes on the campaign trail and when he did, the team recovered quickly so that the bad news was limited to one news cycle.

Obama won all the debates.

The “No Drama Obama”  label applied also to his senior staff – no public squabbling, unlike the HRC effort.

He won the money primaries

He didn’t waste money on administrative overhead (Use public transit, not a cab and if you are going to Iowa, you have to drive. The campaign doesn’t pay for flights to Iowa  from Chicago…)

His team read the tea leaves correctly—anticipating the direction the nation was headed.

Being in Chicago, the campaign was less distracted and successfully ignored the conventional wisdom about how to win a presidential nomination.

The Obama team played Offense, expanding the playing field in the general.

The Obama team used technology, especially social networking tools, to reach millions of new or previously uninspired voters.