David Axelrod

This article concerns a political advisor; for the composer and producer see David Axelrod (musician) .

David Axelrod (2009)

David M. Axelrod (born February 22, 1955 in New York City ) is an American political advisor ( Spin-Doctor ). He was best known as the senior campaign manager for Democratic politician Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections . From his election to US President until early 2011, he served as one of Obama's senior advisor in the White House.

Life

David Axelrod was born in Manhattan in 1955 to a Jewish couple . The father was a psychologist, the mother worked as a journalist for a left-wing newspaper. When he was eight years old, his parents separated. Axelrod grew up in the Stuyvesant Town district of Manhattan and attended Stuyvesant High School there . He then studied political science at the University of Chicago . At the university, from which he graduated in 1977, Axelrod also met his future wife Susan Landau, whom he married in 1979.

Axelrod began to be interested in politics as a teenager and to work politically on a small scale: in 1968 he distributed campaign stickers for the Democrat Robert F. Kennedy . As a student, Axelrod began writing for the Hyde Park Herald as a political editor . After graduating in 1977, he found permanent employment with the Chicago Tribune , for which he had also made occasional contributions as a student. In 1982 Axelrod took over the management of the local political department at the Tribune . He also received his own political column in the newspaper at the time. In 1984, Axelrod first started working as a professional political advisor: In that year he became a member of Senator Paul M. Simon's election campaign team , where he initially acted as communications director. After only eight weeks in this role, he was promoted to campaign team co-manager.

Axelrod & Associates

In 1985, Axelrod founded the political consulting firm Axelrod & Associates . In 1987 he successfully led the re-election campaign for Chicago's incumbent Mayor Harold Washington , the first African American to hold the office. With Washington’s election victory, Axelrod succeeded in gaining a reputation as a specialist in conducting tough election campaigns. In particular, he was considered an expert in presenting African-American politicians - who at that time were still often considered "ineligible" exotic species - to the white population as serious candidates for public office. Axelrod cemented this reputation in the following years by helping other African-Americans to leap into the office of mayor of major US metropolises: He led the successful election campaigns of Dennis Archer ( Detroit ), Michael R. White ( Cleveland ), Anthony A. Williams ( Washington, DC ), Lee P. Brown ( Houston ), and John Street ( Philadelphia ). Axelrod remained associated with the city of Chicago as political strategy advisor to the city's longtime mayor, Richard M. Daley .

In 1992, in Chicago, Axelrod met Barack Obama, who was introduced to him by Betty Lu Saltzmann after she noticed Obama for his commitment to convincing African Americans to register on the city's electoral roll.

In 2004, Axelrod worked for the candidate's campaign team for the Democratic nomination as a candidate for the office of US President, John Edwards . In 2006 Axelrod was involved in the election campaign of Eliot Spitzer , the Democratic candidate for the office of governor of the state of New York.

Obama's adviser

In 2007, Axelrod took over the presidency of Illinois Senator Barack Obama for the nomination for the Democratic Party candidate in the 2008 presidential election. Axelrod had concerns about involvement in Obama's campaign, as several of Obama's competitors for the nomination ( Hillary Clinton , Chris Dodd, and John Edwards) were former clients of his, he ultimately brushed aside. He has also been on a private friendship with Clinton since she tried to promote the Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy foundation founded by Axelrod's wife , which is dedicated to fighting epilepsy (Axelrod's daughter suffers from this disease) would have. Officially, Axelrod justified his decision with the fact that he was convinced of the historical significance that an Obama election would have, and because he was convinced that if Obama's election would one day he will be able to look back and tell himself that he has achieved something great . Obama was able to achieve great success in the election campaign in particular by submitting his application to the slogan "Change" - developed by Axelrod, among others - which proved to be extremely effective. Furthermore, the campaign team initiated a so-called grass-roots movement, which aimed to fill the campaign coffers of Obama's application campaign with the financial support of a broad movement from small donors , instead of the support of a few (as is traditionally the case with US election campaigns) particularly financially strong large donors. In addition, the campaign's strategy turned out to be successful, in particular to attract votes in the democratic primary campaign that were given according to the so-called caucus model. In particular, Hillary Clinton, Obama's most successful competitor, according to Axelrod's assessment, was guilty of neglecting to use her resources to win these votes.

After Obama's victory in the party primaries, Axelrod took over the leadership of Obama's campaign team for the November 4, 2008 election.

In the Reverend Wright case , Obama followed his own convictions, not the views of his campaign team.

“And when his pastor, Reverend Wright's statements became public, he was desperate to say something he probably had a long time to say. His entire team, especially David Axelrod, advised against it. Obama overrode his team's opinion on this point. He wanted to tell Americans something about race that had matured in his head. Under the great pressure that had built up, it became one of his best speeches. "

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Axelrod's successor as chief advisor in the White House was David Plouffe .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Senior Advisor David Axelrod ( Memento from March 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) - Axelrod's former résumé on the White House website (via Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Gunda Woebken-Ekert: They are all professionals . A conversation with Claude Mason Steele. In: Berliner Zeitung . 17./18. January, 2009.
3. ↑ Martha MacCallum: Axelrod Departs the White House, Prepares for New Mission to Re-Elect Obama ( Memento of the original from July 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - FoxNews.com, February 2, 2011 

Web links

Commons : David Axelrod  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• David Axelrod in nndb (English)
• Anjana Shrivastava: The Obama Makers - In: Der Spiegel from November 2, 2008