"Axelrod, working from Chicago, has become perhaps the consultant with the tightest grip on his party's future. "So many consultants are fighting the last war, but David is fighting the next one, and that makes him very, very dangerous," the Republican consultant Mike Murphy told me."
-The New York Times, April 1, 2007
“Even though he lives 1,000 miles from the notoriously clubby world of political consulting, Axelrod has become one of its most successful and respected practitioners. Mark McKinnon, who produced George W. Bush's ads in the last cycle and now works for John McCain, calls Axelrod "the best media guy out there who doesn't have a ring.”
-The Nation, February 19, 2007
“Nineteen months to the presidential election, and already the campaign has an A-Rod!
He is David Axelrod, a former newspaper reporter who has worked on past campaigns for no fewer than five of the Democrats racing to the White House, a form of political ubiquity that only enhances his reputation. This time, he's with Obama.
A measure of his status in the top tier of Democratic spinners, scripters and fixers is that when his peers detect something subtle and good, they presume Axelrod must have had a hand in it.”
-Washington Post, February 15, 2007
According to top Reilly strategists, Patrick began to move into the lead in their polls shortly after his ad campaign started. By the time the three met in their first significant debate, on Sept. 7, the race appeared to be shifting in his favor. "Patrick closed the deal just after Labor Day," said one Reilly campaign official.?
-Boston Globe, September 20, 2006
“But ads run by Schwarzenegger's opponents have failed to dramatically move public opinion on the initiatives, with one exception. Proposition 75, which would prevent public employee unions from using dues for political purposes without first getting individual members' consent, enjoyed a 58 percent lead in August, but support has now dwindled to 46 percent.”
-San Francisco Chronicle, October 29, 2005
“The state Republican Party is fending off charges every day -- every day, ethics charges about the administration. And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee came in with a terrific ad right at the end linking Schmidt and Taft. I think that's the main reason why the race was so close.”
-Stuart Rothenberg on CNN’s Inside Politics discussing the special election in OH-2, August 4, 2005
“The poll showed that Hendrix's advertising…has been more effective than that of his rivals. About 15% of those surveyed said they would be more likely to vote for Hendrix after seeing his ads, while only 7% would be more likely to vote for Kilpatrick after watching his ads.”
-Detroit Free Press, July 29, 2005
“In all likelihood, there is another Karl Rove or James Carville out in the Democratic hinterlands, who ought to be playing essential roles in the most important races. It might be David Axelrod in Chicago, who developed the media strategy for the then-unknown Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) primary campaign…”
-Washington Monthly, January/February 2005
“…a political consultant from Chicago, David Axelrod sent a memo to Emanuel. Rahm passed it to the President, to Gore, and to the rest of us. “Clearly, people yearn for the values and comforts – and sense of control – of an earlier time. But they also recognize that we can’t put the genie back in the bottle. They want a President who confidently meets the challenges of changing times, not one who curses and shrinks from them, or pretends they aren’t there.” Axelrod suggested some language: “We must build bridges to the future, not the past. Much as we might like to, we can’t go back.”
-Michael Waldman, former Clinton Speechwriter, in his book POTUS Speaks
“Axelrod is one of the consultants I never want to see throwing bricks at me again.”
-GOP consultant Ed Rollins, in his book Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms
“In Chicago, I met with two young political activists, David Wilhelm and David Axelrod, who would become involved in the campaign. They were idealistic, tempered by the fire of Chicago election battles, and in tune with my politics.”
-Former President Bill Clinton, in his autobiography, My Life
“Kennedy assembled one of the top political consulting teams in the country. His media advisor, David Axelrod, was a former political writer for the Chicago Tribune who had gone to work for Senate candidate Paul Simon. Axelrod was a populist who believed in his heart that the Republican party represented economic elites, meaning people who had connections, clout, and money.”
-Darrell West in his book, Patrick Kennedy, the Rise to Power.
