Obama's Number 1 Fan

Washington Post: Behind Chief Strategist's Cool Demeanor Is An Intense Fan For Chicago's Sports Teams And His Candidate

(Washingtonpost.com) 
Making His Way

It is also a Chicago thing. To a jaundiced eye from the East, Carl Sandburg's "city of big shoulders" is an unexpected locus of optimism -- a community whose leading citizens believe fervently in civic progress and the ameliorative power of politics. "Chicago is a place where the impossible becomes possible," argues Marilyn Katz, a public relations consultant and political operative who has worked with Axelrod for 30 years. "We don't have New York cynicism."

Axelrod doesn't either, despite his Manhattan origins. His friend David Wilhelm, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a sometime resident of the Windy City, says Axelrod has played an important role in diminishing the racial tensions that once racked Chicago, first by helping Harold Washington, the city's first (and still only) black mayor, elected with the votes of white liberals, then by helping Rich Daley, the mayor today and the recipient of large numbers of black votes -- including a majority of them in last year's reelection campaign, when both of Daley's opponents were black. Daley's Chicago is booming, though chronic urban problems like weak schools and crime have not been solved. "The part of his career he is most proud of," says Axelrod's sister, Joan, who is six years older than he, "is his real commitment to politicians who he believes can make a difference."

Axelrod first came to Chicago to attend its famous university in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side. He had been admitted to Columbia in New York and the University of Chicago. "My folks both thought it would be good to get away from New York and be on my own," he remembers. "I didn't disagree." Chicago soon became another of his enthusiasms.

At the university he studied political science and wrote for the Chicago Maroon, the school's daily paper. His specialty was politics, particularly South Side politics. Eugene "Chip" Forrester, another member of the Class of 1977 on the Maroon, remembers Axelrod as an adventurous student reporter who burrowed into the unfamiliar South Side terrain that produced Harold Washington, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Jesse Jackson and other African American politicos. While still an undergraduate he became a political columnist for the Hyde Park Herald, a community weekly, then got an internship with the Chicago Tribune. He was so successful that the Tribune put him on its reporting staff right after he graduated in 1977.

Axelrod's beloved father, a victim of depression, had taken his own life three years earlier, when Axelrod was 19. "I was largely on my own out here," he says. "I kind of grew up at the newspaper, covering the city. I worked nights, covered every manner of disaster, murder and mayhem. Little by little I got to know the city really well, and I fell in love with it. Then I fell in love with a woman from the city, and it was very clear to me that this is where I wanted to be."

Axelrod met Susan Landau playing basketball in a coed league in Hyde Park. Her father was a medical professor at the university. She and Axelrod married in 1979.

Axelrod's career at the Tribune flourished. He became a local political columnist while still in his 20s. But according to his friend Sam Smith, who covered politics with Axelrod before becoming a sportswriter, "David was better than the people above him," and felt his ambitions would be frustrated. So in 1984, when a professorial, liberal Illinois congressman named Paul Simon won the Democratic nomination to run for the Senate against Charles Percy, a three-term Republican incumbent, he was able to persuade Axelrod to become his press secretary.

Switching sides from reporter to participant suited Axelrod. He loved the competition, and he preferred fighting in the arena to a seat in the bleachers. After a shake-up in the Simon campaign, Axelrod found himself -- at 28 -- running all campaign communications. David Wilhelm, then 27, was the campaign manager. With the help of anti-Percy money and commercials from pro-Israel groups angry with the senator's support for selling military aircraft to Saudi Arabia, Simon won. Axelrod thought he had helped a smart, good man to the Senate -- he was a Simon fan.

From there he went into business as a political consultant. Soon Democratic hopefuls were streaming to his door; he made a lot of money. He became famous for ingenious campaign commercials that solved big political problems for his clients.

One was Rahm Emanuel, the veteran of the Clinton White House who returned home to Chicago to run for the House of Representatives in 2002. Opponents called him a carpetbagger and an elitist without roots in the city. Axelrod produced a 30-second spot featuring a Chicago police sergeant named Les Smulevitz, who sat in a diner and spoke into the camera: "I've been a Chicago police officer for a long time, and I've seen it all -- the guns, the gangs, the drugs . . . ." He then touted Emanuel, noting the crime-fighting role he had played in the Clinton White House. "That's why the Fraternal Order of Police and Chicago firefighters back Rahm Emanuel for Congress," Smulevitz said. "And I'd tell you that even if I weren't his uncle." The commercial ended with a photo of uniformed uncle with his arm around his candidate nephew. Emanuel won easily.

Axelrod became "a pillar of the community," in the words of Wilhelm. Axelrod and his wife created Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, a foundation to sponsor research into the disease that had disabled their first child, a daughter named Lauren, now 26. (They also have two sons.) They have raised more than $9 million, with help from numerous politicians, including Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Axelrod concluded years ago that he should never leave Chicago, and should particularly resist the temptation to move to Washington, where most big-time political consultants work and live. He thought, "I might be better at what I do if I lived somewhere where they didn't talk about the Federal Register over dinner." He also liked his role in Chicago, where instead of seeking business, he can now wait for politicians to come to him.

The Obama Connection

In 2002 one of the politicians who sought him out was a boyish state senator from the South Side named Barack Obama, who was contemplating a race for the U.S. Senate. They had met in the early 1990s and liked each other. Axelrod had counseled him to skip the Senate race and wait for a chance to run for mayor, but Obama didn't want to wait.

Axelrod had discussed working for another candidate for the Senate seat that came open in 2004, a wealthy newcomer named Blair Hull who was prepared to spend millions on a race. But Axelrod didn't like him, and was eager to work with Obama -- initially for a small fee. When he began his campaign, Obama had "not a sou" in the bank, in the words of former congressman and appeals court judge Abner Mikva, an early Obama supporter. Mikva was impressed that the big-time consultant would go to work for Obama without any assurance that he would make any money.

"My involvement was a leap of faith," Axelrod later told Obama's biographer, David Mendell. Axelrod had fallen for another candidate -- fallen hard. "I thought that if I could help Barack Obama get to Washington, then I would have accomplished something great in my life."

Instead of a typical business relationship, the two men and their wives have become close friends. According to Mikva, it was Axelrod who persuaded Michelle Obama to approve the idea of her husband running for president. When Mikva called Axelrod earlier this year to complain that the candidate looked exhausted and needed some rest, Axelrod rejected the implicit accusation that he was abusing Obama: "He's my friend, too, you know," he told Mikva.

The Obama presidential campaign has now taken over this fan's life. "It has really played havoc with my basketball and baseball," Axelrod acknowledges. But he has never before had a rooting interest in such a high-stakes game. Nor has he had a candidate he could root for with such enthusiasm -- one he could compare to Robert F. Kennedy. "You never want to compare yourself to an iconic figure like that, and Obama doesn't, but the spirit of possibility in difficult times is a powerful thing," Axelrod says. "And I see that again."

Research editor Alice Crites contributed to this report.

[girlmiami]

In the case of Jeremiah Wright, this is particularly disturbing. Obama has spent twenty years in the church of this man whose basic ideology is Black Liberation Theology. This is nothing more than black separatism dressed up in fancy religious clothes. It stems from a movement that has been opposed to racial integration for more than a century.
He also chose to embrace Bill Ayers. At first I thought this was no big deal. After all, I had many friends in various radical movements (some violent) and if I ran into them on the street today, I would try to be cordial. And guilt by association is pretty sleazy behavior.
William Ayers and Obama worked together for eight years.Obama''''s wife Michelle is a co worker with Ayers wife . William Ayers sure looks happy jumping on the American Flag doesn''''t he? Every time I hear someone say Obama can''''t be responsible for what other people do or say I say back to them that you are known by the company you keep. SORRY MY VOTE IS FOR HILLARY 2008 Obama has no experience. RIGHT YES WE CON...HE RIPPED OFF BILL CLINTON IN HIS 1992 DEBATE CHANGE WE NEED CHANGE.. THE GUY IS SO FULL OF HIMSELF PLEASE.

LOOK FOR YOURSELF OBAMA FANS:
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[abbe91]

Senator McCain spent almost 6 years as a POW.
Posted by boycot-china at 09:56 AM : May 03, 2008

Thanks for summarizing so well his military record.

[abbe91]

does anybody remember the The Buffalo Six?...the Lackawanna Six?
Posted by nanging3 at 10:08 PM : May 03, 2008

And the Keating 5 ?

[truthyness]

What was David Axelrods name before he changed it??

[blackyowe]

I don''t think Obama has allot of spooky connections in the middle east. I think he is young and foolish and I am disgusted with the hate speech of his waco preacher. The fact that Wright was his mentor is deeply disturbing and rather childish.

[blackyowe]

Won Guam by 7 votes that is too funny!

[nanging3]

One of the lesser reported revelations of Obama''s San Francisco reverie is that
he went on a college trip to Pakistan (during the period of the establishment of
the Mujahideen "training camps" (against the Soviets at that time))...does
anybody remember the The Buffalo Six?...the Lackawanna Six? It was their little
"college trip" to Pakistan that got them arrested.


But I''m sure Obama''s trip was completely innocent...that he exercised the same
stellar judgement in picking out people there to meet and greet as he has here
in picking out his role models (Jeremny Wright),political passage mentors (Bill
Ayers) and land deal advisors (Antoin "Tony" Rezko).

[nanging3]

Jeremiah Wright is wrong when he said white Americans don''''t understand what the
black liberation theology is all about.

On the contrary, when someone like him uses his pulpit to spew forth hatred, we
know full well the results -- A hate-filled congregation whose anger is directed
toward white Americans.

As far as I am concerned, Jeremiah Wright is doing as much damage to those who
he inculcates as the Imans of the radical Islamic movement.

Shame on Barack Obama for sitting in his church for 20 years and for letting his
impressionable children be exposed to his revulsion

[nanging3]

As I was searching the net for info on Jodi Evans I came across an article, %u201CTerrorist Fundraisers for Obama%u201D on Frontpagemagazine.com written by Patrick Poole on Wednesday, April 23 (2008). Mr Poole writes, %u201CTwo years ago, Hatem El-Hady was the chairman of the Toledo, Ohio-based Islamic charity, Kindhearts, which was closed by the US governmentin February 2006 for terrorist fundraising and all its assets frozen. Today, El-Hady has redirected his fundraising efforts for his newest cause - Barack Obama for President.%u201D According to Poole, Michelle Obamalists El-Hady as one of her 224 friends (I checked the site today and found only 223 friends%u2026%u2026%u2026one was removed!) as one of his friends, but of course! You really MUST read this article for yourself (click here). I am sitting here speechless. I have no idea at this point if this is true I am just reporting what I found online.

Terrorist Funding For Obama

[nanging3]

Ayers%u2019 wife Dorn (1984 - 1988) worked in the same law firm as Michelle Obama. Dorn introduced Michelle to Obama. Rumor as it that it was Dorn who set-up Obama%u2019s first fundrasier (1995) in Chicago (re:Obama in Ayers house).

http://dianej.wordpress.com/

[kmccliment]

OBAMAS HIDDEN AGENDA:
WELFARE FOR THE WORLD- Most importantly due to Black Theology- Africa.

Source:Newsmax.com (following)
the Global Poverty Act (S.2433). According to some conservative sources, this disastrous legislation could eventually force U.S. taxpayers to fork over as much as 0.7 percent of the nation''''s Gross Domestic Product -- or $845,000,000,000.00 -- on welfare to third-world countries.
***This is being sponsored by Senator Obama.

His true agenda is to TAX,TAX,TAX and promote Black Theology.

[Lai K W]

I read that. 67 lies from OBAMA and he is guilty as charged. The real OBAMA; the dark side of THE FORCE.

[libra127]

This is a MUST READ article:

"The Truth vs. Barack Obama"

http://savagepolitics.com/?page_id=326

[blackyowe]

Hmmmmmmm me thinks they might be a couple.

[boycot-china]

Senator McCain spent almost 6 years as a POW. One of his cell mates was a hero named Mike Christian from Alabama. Mike didn''''t wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. Mike enlisted at 17 and became a pilot who was shot down and captured. The Vietnamese allowed some POW''''s to get boxes from home. In these boxes were handkerchiefs and clothing. Mike made a bamboo needle and over a couple of months created an American flag. Everyday, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang up the flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know being proud of America isn''''t important these days but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event. One day, the Vietnamese searched our cell and discovered Mike''''s flag. That evening they beat Mike severely. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was Mike. He was there with his eyes almost shut from the beating, making another American flag. He wasn''''t making it because it made him feel better, but because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country. So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget Senator Obama''''s anti-American comments and support of a racist church. Be proud to be an American and support the ideals that promote freedom, liberty, and racial equality to all Americans.

[downsteamjim]

What a puff piece! Did Axelrod write it himself? Did he sit in the stands for 20 years before he noticed that the Giants had moved to San Fransico?

[nanging3]

I can see it now, the %u201CI went to a madrassa but didn%u2019t inhale%u201D-defense......


Barack Hussein visited family in Indonesia and friends in Pakistan. I wonder who
his friends were - Pakistan was flooded with close to 2 million Afghan refugees,
Iran was in the depths of Mullah induced madness, Iraq was trying to build The
Bomb, and the World was waking up to the start of the 3rd Muslim expansion.


"I knew what Sunni and Shia was [sic] before I joined the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee."

[nanging3]

One of the lesser reported revelations of Obama''s San Francisco reverie is that
he went on a college trip to Pakistan (during the period of the establishment of
the Mujahideen "training camps" (against the Soviets at that time))...does
anybody remember the The Buffalo Six?...the Lackawanna Six? It was their little
"college trip" to Pakistan that got them arrested.

But I''m sure Obama''s trip was completely innocent...that he exercised the same
stellar judgement in picking out people there to meet and greet as he has here
in picking out his role models (Jeremny Wright),political passage mentors (Bill
Ayers) and land deal advisors (Antoin "Tony" Rezko).

you need to worry about who Obama really is ?

[nanging3]

Barack Obama is on record as orchestrating the defeat of Illinois%u2019 Born Alive Infants Protection Act. (Jill Stanek has documented this extensively.) While it is obvious that everyone in the pro-life community finds this sufficiently repulsive to vote for whoever (or whatever) is running against Obama, no self-respecting pro-choice person is going to stand with Obama on this either. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY, one of the most liberal members of Congress) said of the Federal version of this legislation, %u201CThere is no such thing as a right to a live birth abortion.%u201D

[nanging3]

Jeremiah Wright is wrong when he said white Americans don''t understand what the
black liberation theology is all about.

On the contrary, when someone like him uses his pulpit to spew forth hatred, we
know full well the results -- A hate-filled congregation whose anger is directed
toward white Americans.

As far as I am concerned, Jeremiah Wright is doing as much damage to those who
he inculcates as the Imans of the radical Islamic movement.

Shame on Barack Obama for sitting in his church for 20 years and for letting his
impressionable children be exposed to his revulsion