April 24, 2008 6:17 PM
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Inside Obama's War Room
(CBS)
We wanted to give viewers a look at a day in the life of each political campaign, to show you just how the sausage gets made. Don't tell Otto von Bismarck.
Our first stop: Chicago, straight to the Obama headquarters where the action never stops.
David Axelrod, Senator Obama's chief strategist, told us his average day is "a cascade of phone calls, emails, conference calls, and meetings." From time to time we might all feel that way, and trust me – I get a lot of emails. He gets a deluge.
The office almost crackles with energy. We thought of David Bowie's song "Pressure," that rhythmic crescendo of tension and excitement. But the office is just half of it!
There's also the "road show," as Axelrod described it, the traveling press corps and team of staffers that often includes the candidate himself. That effort is coordinated by the Director of Scheduling and Advance, a woman named Alyssa Mastromonaco.
From the speechwriters to the finance department, we got lots of access and candor.
In our interview, I asked Axelrod about his relationship with the Clintons. He worked on Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate race, and I suspected the situation he's in now must be a bit awkward.
"That's why I hate primary elections, because they are sort of family fights," he said. "You end up having to work against people you care about."
And that work may continue all the way to the Democratic convention in August. Unless the Democratic "family" finds a way to come together before then.
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