 |
|
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
May 20, 2008
/ 15 Iyar 5768
Meet Obama's go-to guy
By
Roger Simon
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
CHICAGO — David Axelrod walks into the coffee shop wearing a black T-shirt bearing the logo of the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A farm team of the Chicago Cubs. Axelrod's boss, Barack Obama, is an avid Chicago White Sox fan, but it is unlikely Obama would object.
Obama has publicly supported the concept of the "principled sports fan," someone who "stands up" for his team "even when his team is losing." Team Obama has had many more wins than losses this political season, is poised to lock up a majority of pledged delegates to the Democratic convention and is leading among the superdelegates who will determine the nominee.
Still, it has been a grueling campaign, and Axelrod looks a little tired. He orders oatmeal and a cup of blackberry sage tea. (And though a profile of him in The New York Times Magazine last year described his mustache as always looking "damp," he managed to keep it dry throughout our breakfast.)
"You are never so smart as you look when you're winning, and you're never as dumb as you look when you're losing," Axelrod says. "That has sustained me through very hard times."
After an election is over, the media usually decide that everything the winner did was an act of genius and everything the loser did was a terrible mistake, but Axelrod knows the truth is far more complicated than that.
Campaigns make bad and good decisions, and maybe the winning campaign makes more good than bad ones or maybe sometimes it just gets lucky. In any case, the smart campaigns realize their defeats are far more important than their victories, because defeats teach lessons that victories do not.
"After we lost the New Hampshire primary," Axelrod says, "the next day, on about three hours of sleep, [Obama] said, 'I think what happened yesterday was right. When you are the new guy, it is not supposed to be easy. It was like Icarus flying too close to the sun. We have to earn this. But it persuaded me this is the right battle.'"
We in the media make way too much of campaign staff. One reason is that the candidates recede farther and farther from us every four years and we deal more and more with the staff. Secondly, campaigns have gotten so complicated and have so many moving parts that it no longer seems possible for a single figure — the candidate — to really be in charge. (And presidential candidates often complain that they are sealed off from reality in the "steel bubble" of the campaign and find it hard to make decisions from the road.) And it is the nature of the media to want to pull back the curtain and see who is pulling the levers.
But campaigns are almost always won and lost by the candidates themselves. Obama wanted a "drama-free" staff, and that is what he has gotten. I have known Axelrod since he was a political reporter for the Chicago Tribune and I was at the Chicago Sun-Times. While he can be very tough and determined, he is also invariably calm and soft-spoken.
He has been doing politics for 24 years now, and he has learned a few things along the way:
When he was running Paul Simon's successful U.S. Senate race in 1984, one of Simon's campaign offices in Chicago was defaced with swastikas out of the mistaken belief that Simon (no relation to me) was Jewish. Axelrod saw an easy solution, and Simon began mentioning in his speeches that he was the son of Lutheran missionaries.
So today, in a nation in which 15 percent of voters think (mistakenly) that Obama is a Muslim, I was not surprised when the Obama campaign recently began circulating leaflets with a picture of Obama standing in a pulpit with a large cross in the background and saying that Obama "felt a beckoning of the spirit and accepted Jesus Christ into his life."
At breakfast, I ask Axelrod to pick a campaign moment that says something about Obama, and Axelrod mentions not a victory but a defeat: the night Obama lost the popular vote in both Ohio and Texas.
"He is at his best at our worst moments," Axelrod says. That night, Obama went into his campaign headquarters to shake everybody's hand and to try to lift the spirits of the staffers and volunteers, especially those who were very young, working on their first campaign and absolutely crestfallen.
"He told them to keep their chins up," Axelrod says, "but he also had a legal pad full of the things the campaign did wrong and right. And he always acknowledges his own deficiencies. He said: 'There are many things I could have done better. We can learn from this.'"
"It has been a debilitating process in many ways," Axelrod says, "but it has had value. He is a stronger and better candidate for having had to struggle."
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on Roger Simon's column by clicking here.
Roger Simon Archives
© 2008, Creators Syndicate
|
