He's the man with the plan

Not so with Obama's campaign, Emanuel said. "These guys won."

Plouffe, who has close-cropped brown hair and an aura of absolute confidence, got into politics while at the University of Delaware. Democratic strategist Joe Hansen hired him to work in a Senate race and they became close friends -- conserving money by subsisting on two-for-a-dollar hot dogs.

When Hansen went to work for Sen. Tom Harkin in Iowa, he asked Plouffe to come along. Plouffe at first declined, saying he wanted to work as a tennis pro. A few days later he called to say he would be there in 24 hours.

Plouffe's knowledge of the Iowa caucus system helped shape Obama's early focus on that state though many backers pleaded for a broader approach.

"The Iowa strategy was right for Barack because he didn't have the name recognition and campaign infrastructure to run a national campaign," said Valerie Jarrett, a longtime friend of the Obamas and a senior advisor to the campaign. "David, in a very steady, steely way, said: 'This is our strategy and we're sticking to it.' "

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peter.nicholas@latimes.com