He has studied and implemented very effectively the strategies of The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene.
Obama has, in an odd way, cast a spell on his followers. You can see its effects in people like Chris Matthews, who will periodically come to his senses only to be drawn back into the spell.
He is a link to a video on one chapter of The Art of Seduction that will demonstrate this entire point.
BTW, some of Greene's strategies are quite similar to those of Alinsky and they have been heavily employed by those in the hip-hop and rap music business.
stars must always renew their luster or face the worst possible fate: oblivion.