You Know You’re In The Second Tier When …

. . . you need someone from the West Wing to campaign for you in Iowa. It’s hard to say you’re about to topple the front runners and at the same time call Richard Schiff in to help.

And you know you’re in the third tier when you can’t get someone from the West Wing to campaign for you.

Bonus Context:

Jon Stewart: Now listen, what do you think about, you definitely also have a little bit of that Hollywood flair. You’re gonna start drawing the celebrities. Oprah is gonna throw a fundraiser.

Obama: Right.

Jon: That doesn’t seem good. I still remember Howard Dean in Iowa, with Martin Sheen introducing him, quoting an Indian poet to a caucus group of literally like AFL–CIO workers, and just seeing their faces like this: “Huh?? What is he talking about?”

Obama: Well, you know, you don’t use folks in that way. I think Oprah’s support is wonderful. I think having the celebrities want to do stuff for you — but the truth is, in Iowa and New Hampshire, people just want to talk to you. They want to lift the hood, they want to kick the tires, they want to look you in the eye, they want to get a sense, are you telling the truth? There’s nobody that can do that job other than you.