BELIEVER: DAVID AXELROD

Axelrod is indeed a believer, having been there from the start of Obama's meteoric rise to the Presidency.  This book is mostly about Axelrod's life, the first third before he meets Obama, the rest details the two election campaigns and Axelrod's role as an advisor to the President.  He started his career as reporter in Chicago, where he got interested in politics, was gradually pulled into running campaigns, the most noteworthy that of Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago, the man who finally broke the system.  Axelrod was responsible for his winning strategy and right from the beginning, he has sympathized with the underdog, those who fight for the middle and underclass.

He meets Obama early, when he is an organizer and is immediately impressed by his charisma, his obsession with worthy social goals, especially since he could have been making big bucks as a lawyer in Chicago.  Eventually, they become friends and David becomes Obama's strategist when he runs for for Senate  As he admits, luck plays a mighty role in Obama's being elected, as his primary candidate drops out leaving him the challenger, then his Republican opponent ends up withdrawing because of financial shenanigans, virtually leaving Obama as the only man running.

We then move to his presidential campaign, as they begin working on how to get this practically unknown black man elected President of the United States.  Once again, fate seems to intervene, as things fall in to place for Obama, as he wins Iowa, shocking Hilary, which sets the stage for his triumph in the primaries. We do see how important it is to have a creative, hip, modern, Internet savvy staff.  Two names stand out, Axelrod and David Plouffe, both are hugely responsible for Obama's winning the election.  I might add that Robert Gibbs also played an important role, much like an attack dog, ready to go after the opponents weaknesses. So luck, hard work, a charismatic and brilliant candidate, add up to victory.

We then move to the White House, where Axelrod has an office and he remains a trusted advisor to the President though he has no official role.  We get to see how policy is made, the trade offs, the difficulties this President faces with a Republican party ready to do anything to thwart his policies.  Nevertheless, they get the Obamacare though both houses, a triumph for the President though many felt this was not something to take up initially.  But Obama felt this was essential; he had promised it to the American people, it was necessary, and so they went for it and passed the bill.

As you would expect, Obama comes off quite well, rarely angry, always ready to listen, in control, right from the beginning, when he announced his candidacy in Springfield.  True, he becomes a much better candidate as he moves through the primaries, but he is always in command, the voice of reason, knowing the right things to do, the right way to go about things.  And he wrote many of his speeches, a true wordsmith,  and because of this, because he was willing to take chances, for example, writing and giving a speech on race early in the campaign, he was elected President, not once but twice.

Axlerod talks about the reelection campaign, much different because now Obama has a record to run on.  And he seems tired of it all, complacent, as we see in the first debate with Romney.  But he listens to the criticism of his staff, gets his mojo back, practices his lines even though he would prefer not to, and knocks Romney out of the ring.

This is written by a man who believes in Obama, who is as close to the President as any one other than his wife I would guess and for that reason alone, it's worth reading.  I ended up liking Axelrod immensely, and found this book fascinating as it takes us on a earth shaking journey, as the United States elects an African American for its Presidency.  I still cannot get over it.