David Axelrod

David M. Axelrod (born February 22, 1955) is an American political consultant based in Chicago, Illinois. He is best known as a top political advisor to former President Bill Clinton as well as campaign advisor to President Barack Obama during Obama's successful run for Presidency. Following the 2008 election, Axelrod was appointed as Senior Advisor to Obama. Axelrod left the White House position in early 2011 to become the Communications Director for Obama's re-election campaign.
Axelrod is the founder of AKPD Message and Media, was a political writer for the Chicago Tribune, and operated ASK Public Strategies, now called ASGK Public Strategies.


Barack Obama presidential campaign


Axelrod's ties with Obama reach back more than a decade. Axelrod met Obama in 1992 when Obama so impressed Betty Lou Saltzmann, a woman from Chicago's "lakefront liberal crowd," during a black voter registration drive he ran that she then introduced the two. Obama also consulted Axelrod before he delivered his famed 2002 anti-war speech and asked him to read drafts of his book, The Audacity of Hope.
Axelrod served as the chief strategist and media advisor for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Axelrod contemplated taking a break from the 2008 presidential campaign, as five of the candidates —Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, and Tom Vilsack — were past clients. Personal ties between Axelrod and Hillary Clinton also made it difficult, as she had done significant work on behalf of epilepsy causes for a foundation co-founded by Axelrod's wife and mother, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) (Axelrod's daughter suffers from developmental disabilities associated with chronic epileptic seizures.) Axelrod's wife even said that a 1999 conference Clinton convened to find a cure for the condition was "one of the most important things anyone has done for epilepsy."
Axelrod ultimately decided to participate in the Obama campaign. He told The Washington Post, "I thought that if I could help Barack Obama get to Washington, then I would have accomplished something great in my life."
Axelrod contributed to the initial announcement of Obama's campaign by creating a five-minute Internet video released January 16, 2007. He continued to use 'man on the street' style biographical videos to create intimacy and authenticity in the political ads.

Senior Advisor to the President


On November 20, 2008, Obama named Axelrod as a Senior Advisor to his administration. His role included crafting policy and communicating the President's message in coordination with President Obama, the Obama Administration, speechwriters, and the White House communications team.
Axelrod left his White House senior advisor post on January 28, 2011. He is a top aide to Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. Axelrod also stated that his job as Obama's chief campaign strategist in the 2012 campaign will be his final job as a political operative.