November 1, 2008 9:37 AM
David Axelrod: The Wizard of Obama
Sometimes things aren't what they seem.
Obama has had a slick campaign. The mastermind behind it all is David Axelrod, who ran the campaign for Deval Patrick. From The Wall Street Journal, October 17:
The Axelrod Method
By MATTHEW KAMINSKIA couple Januaries ago, the first African-American governor of Massachusetts took the oath of office on the State House steps. "Change is not always comfortable or convenient or welcome," he declared. "But it is what we hoped for, what we have worked for, what you voted for, and what you shall have."
The swearing-in ended an improbable journey for Deval Patrick -- and started a painful lesson in political realities for a rookie executive.
His story provides a useful prism to view the current presidential race. The Patrick campaign is the model for Barack Obama's effort, down to the messages of "hope" and "change" and the unofficial Patrick slogan of "Yes, We Can!" The men are friends with similar backgrounds (raised by single mothers, educated at Harvard Law) and electoral appeal (unconventional, "historic" candidacies built around an inspiring personal story). More importantly perhaps, they share an image-maker and political guru in David Axelrod, the strategist who told the New York Times Magazine last year that Obama presidential campaign themes were field tested in Massachusetts.
As a path to power, the Axelrod method appears to be the best thing going today. Coming into the 2006 race, Mr. Patrick was a political novice with 1%-2% name recognition in a state that's 6% black. He faced off against a sitting state attorney general favored by the Democratic Party establishment. The former Clinton administration lawyer energized the grass-roots and youth vote with superior organization and stirring oratory. The candidate himself was the message; the campaign dwelled on his personal story, not the issues. As one Patrick advertisement trilled, "His life has been the triumph of hope, hard work and determination."
Doug Rubin, the governor's chief of staff today and then a Patrick campaign strategist, says Mr. Axelrod's AKP&D Message and Media political consulting firm -- which also brought into the Patrick team the current Obama campaign manager David Plouffe -- got the nod because "the governor wanted to make the case for himself . . . in a different from traditional campaign." Massachusetts never saw anything like it. Mr. Patrick upset the favorite in the Democratic primary and won the general election by 21 points.
Read article here.
My fellow citizens: we are electing a President, not American Idol. And the problem here is that Obama is not - as some people originally claimed - an empty suit. He is coming fully loaded with a Socialist ideology backed by associates with a longstanding commitment to overturning the historical America.
Who would have thought that a simple question by an American citizen would threaten to upset this smooth and slick machine? The outrage in the media - and even among Republican politicos upset because Joe the Plumber wasn't "vetted" - how crazy was that!
How could Joe have been vetted? How did Joe know that Obama would come strolling down his street and shake his hand? How did he know that asking the Presumptive Ruler a relevant question would not only reveal the Ruler's heart, but would lead to the most outrageous tactics of intimidation and fear against a private American citizen?
This is a portent of life to come under an Obama Regime. Government computers used to investigate private records of ordinary citizens who stand in the way to the Regime's "progress." You all know that happened, don't you? That Joe the Plumber was investigated with taxpayer dollars?
Why isn't this causing the same outrage as Watergate? I guess because many people are still too enthralled with the Wizard to notice what's been going on behind the curtain.
Posted in Campaign 2008 | Permalink
Comments
The press has pulled the curtain to shield the public from what is really going on. Just the other night Charlie Rose and Tom Brokaw were discussing on Rose's show that they really did not know who Barak Obama was. Less than a week to go and they still have not figured it out. Pathetic.
Posted by: Amelia | November 1, 2008 11:36 AM
The scourge of abortion has allowed the devil to run rampant in our country. We have become blind to bad behavior and cannot tell truth from lies anymore. Only those who pray with a sincere heart have been able to "see" behind the curtain. Julie c.m.
Posted by: Julie Klekas | November 1, 2008 11:56 AM
Great article by Victor Davis Hanson - The End of Journalism
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OGFhOWY3YTZkMzliYjFjYTlkMjNjMGNhMTc3ZjYyMWM=&w=MA==
Posted by: Amelia | November 1, 2008 1:18 PM
