Follow this link to an article on The New Republic web site that describes some important qualities of Barack Obama in the words of a university colleague of his.

These are exactly the qualities that I thought I detected from listening to him speak and from reading what he has written. It is nice to know that these are the qualities he has demonstrated during his tenure at the University of Chicago Law School.

Usually when I have done a job interview and get a reference like this that corroborates what I saw in an interview, I have been quite happy with the people I have hired. As in any hiring decision, there is no guarantee. However, I have found that the odds are with me when I can get a reference like this.

Credit goes to lurker RichardH for bringing this article to my attention.