David Axelrod
David Axelrod
David M. Axelrodis an American political operative and analyst, best known as the Chief Strategist for Barack Obama's presidential campaigns. After Obama's election, Axelrod was appointed as Senior Advisor to the President. Axelrod left the White House position in early 2011 and became the Senior Strategist for Obama's successful re-election campaign in 2012. He currently serves as the director of the non-partisan Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and is a Senior Political Commentator for CNN...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth22 February 1955
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
Royko said it was the worst thing anybody could ever do to him, ... Here he had been gratuitously nasty, and the guy calls up and makes a joke about it. He said it was totally disarming. It was also totally brilliant.
Emotions always get cranked up after incidents of this type. It's good to step back and let common sense prevail. I appreciate Bill Duffy's willingness to help work through this with the Davis family and ours. That's how things get worked out, when people are willing to talk.
People understand we're on the doorstep of doing something really historic that will help the American people and strengthen our country for the long run.
Bill . . . called a guy who was a towering figure and he totally defanged him.
At the end of the day I think people understand that relationships are difficult sometimes.
We agree with Simpson and Bowles and others who have looked at this. What's necessary is to stabilize the debt and then work from there. You can't balance the budget in the short term because to do that would be to ratchet down the economy.
You know, we - if, for example, Jerry Brown can withstand, you know, what will probably end up being $200 million of spending by his opponent and get elected governor of California, that will be a big victory in the nation's largest state.
I can only conclude the same geniuses who put the county budget together are now working as his campaign advisors.
My advice was to stay a million miles away from it.
The place where we don't agree is on whether there should be some restraint on insurance companies and whether they should be allowed to run wild. We believe there should be some restraint; some on the other side don't think so.
This was a visceral reaction to a horrible event. He feels a sense of responsibility, not just as a senator, but as an African-American senator.
I think that more and more you're going to see people of good will on their side of the aisle say you know what, we got to get off the bus here, this is not headed in the right direction.
If you look at the themes that he struck from the minute he started running for president through today, there is a very high level of consistency, and there is a sense that he is who he is. Obama's governing is completely consistent with the way he campaigned and the themes on which he campaigned, the issues he highlighted, the vision he shared.
I came to the conclusion months ago, and I said it to members of Congress, that the only way people are going to fully appreciate what this reform is if we pass it and implement it and it becomes not a caricature but a reality, and I still believe that. So I think it will be easier to sell it moving forward than it was to this point.