In a must-read, just-published piece, the Chicago Tribune’s John McCormick recalls some of his memories from spending over 700 days covering the 2008 primary and general elections in the St. Thomas University alumni magazine.

In my first POLITICO column, I wrote that one of the biggest myths about President Obama is that he has an excellent relationship with the press. And while the campaign did go out of its way to give the hometown papers some exclusive access (McCormick notes that he had “several” one-on-one interviews with Obama), the piece notes that for the most part, press interaction with Obama was limited:

While Dean seemed to enjoy the give-and-take with his traveling media contingent, Obama was less interested in making small talk with reporters. …

As the campaign moved into the general election phase, the access to the candidate became even more limited. Days or even weeks could go by between our chances to ask him any questions or have any meaningful interaction beyond watching from a safe distance as he boarded the plane (he from the front, me from the back.) … We were fed well, and there was an open bar on the plane each night as we flew to the next destination. The candidate would come back to make small talk from time to time, but that happened less and less as the weeks progressed. …

As summer turned to fall … reporters would rarely get close to Obama, unless he was holding a news conference, something he seemed inclined to do about once a week on average.

Also interesting is McCormick’s reminder that Obama was not always the skilled orator that he is now:

While Obama often talked too long (yes, some supporters used to walk out before he was done), those of us who watched him daily could see him gradually getting better as a candidate. He was learning, in real time.