This may be one of the more raw, authentic and touching things I have seen from Barack Obama in a while. He is extremely disciplined, which is the key to winning a presidential race, but when he drops it and speaks openly it can be magical. Today he had one of those moments (h/t to Avi) when he was asked by a 23 year-old woman in New Mexico: ““How do you ground yourself,” she continues. “How do you keep yourself true to the things you say?”

Obama started to give a more stock answer. But then…

But this answer seems a touch rote, not really satisfying Ms. Sanchez or the candidate. He reaches into the pocket of his black slacks, pulling out a mound of trinkets and tchotchkes.

“I have all these things that people give me,” he says. “This eagle that a Native American woman gave me, this woman who gave me her lucky poker chip.

“They hand these to you say and say, y’know, ‘I want you to do well but I want you to help me,’ ” he says. “A guy I met wanted to buy me a beer in Pennsylvania even though he had just lost his job and couldn’t afford to put gas in his car and do a job search.”

He falls silent just a second, rummaging for meaning in these objects. He is describing people who are forced to play life’s game with no net below.

“If you are asking them to vote for you,” he says. “If you are asking for their trust, you better be serious. You better not over-promise.”

It goes hand in hand with the message he gave to his staff in the video they released to the email list today.