March 18th, 2008
David Axelrod is the Chicago-based mastermind behind U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. The political consultant has long been well known to Illinois political insiders, with clients like Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, and insiders of national politics too, with a slew of congressional races and other high-profile races behind him.
Now the behind-the-scenes campaign guru is gaining a celebrity of his own.
In the most recent in a series of Axelrod profiles, Business Week looks at Axelrod’s other consulting firm, ASK Public Strategies. The firm has worked mostly in secret, though its clients have included ComEd and AT&T. Just as Axelrod’s well-known firm, AKP&D Message and Media, is focused on aiding the campaigns of Democratic candidates, ASK is geared toward the (super-secret) interests of corporations.
ASK’s predilection for operating in the shadows shows up in its work. On behalf of ComEd and Comcast, the firm helped set up front organizations that were listed as sponsors of public-issue ads. Industry insiders call such practices “Astroturfing,” a reference to manufacturing grassroots support. Alderman Brendan Reilly of the 42nd Ward, who has been battling the Children’s Museum’s relocation plans, describes ASK as “the gold standard in Astroturf organizing. This is an emerging industry, and ASK has made a name for itself in shaping public opinion and manufacturing public support.”
ASK’s Web site says little about the firm’s activities. AKP&D’s Web site, on the other hand, is loaded with info, including the firm’s impressive client list.
Perhaps the more comprehensive profile of Axelrod appeared last spring in the New York Times Magazine. It walks through the evolution of Axelrod’s career, from his days as a Chicago Tribune reporter to campaign aide for the late U.S. Paul Simon of Illinois to chief strategist for Obama’s presidential race.
When the first major profile of Axelrod appeared in Chicago magazine in 1987, three years after he left a high-profile job as the lead political reporter for The Chicago Tribune to work as a political operative, the article (“Hatchet Man: The Rise of David Axelrod”) began by comparing him to an “exotic rodent.”
The Times Magazine story continues:
Two decades later, there remains the matter of the comb-over and the damp mustache, but his looks seem less important now. In the last four years, Axelrod has helped steer campaigns for fully four of the Democrats now running for president — Obama, Clinton, John Edwards and Chris Dodd — and one who dropped out (Tom Vilsack); framed the messages for the new young governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick; and served as the chief political adviser for Representative Rahm Emanuel when the congressman helped orchestrate the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives last fall.
The Washington Post also profiled Axelrod last February.
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.
Of course Axelrod won’t take credit for specific lines. Consultants are supposed to stay in the background. “One thing I came to realize early in the process of working with Barack was, he was always going to be the best writer in the room,” Axelrod says. “If you appreciate words and the power of them, he’s a wonderful person to work with. . . . I’d say 80 percent of what he did on that platform on Saturday was in that initial draft,” which Obama had e-mailed to Axelrod at about 4 a.m. Thursday.
The liberal Nation weekly also weighed in last February. And if you’re looking for video, here is PBS’s Charlie Rose’s interview with Axelrod. A Tribune profile, complete with video, is here.
From the Trib:
By 1984, while still in his 20s, David Axelrod had already built an impressive career as a star political reporter, columnist and City Hall bureau chief for the Tribune, the largest and most influential newspaper in Illinois.
It was his dream job. But he was unhappy.
Always awash with doubts and anxieties, Axelrod would agonize over the nuances of the stories he was writing, putting in long hours in the city’s wards doing research and then spending hours more at the computer keyboard. But that was who he was.
February 26th, 2008
The wide-ranging federal probe of public corruption in state government creeped closer to Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday. Officially, that is, though not technically.
It’s been clear for months the feds were eyeing Blagojevich as a central character in their probe. But Blagojevich had previously been identified only by the pseudonym “Public Official A.” The feds did not identify him by name. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve removed any doubt about the official’s identity. She identified the governor by name.
In a nine-page order pertaining to evidence the feds plan to offer in the upcoming corruption trial of Tony Rezko, a former top fundraiser and adviser for Blagojevich, St. Eve revealed that Blagojevich is one in the same as ”Public Official A.” News coverage is here, here, here, and here.
What exactly did the governor do wrong? First things first, the feds have not charged Blagojevich with a crime.
However, they have charged and/or are investigating a number of Blagojevich insiders. Next week, Rezko begins trial on charges that he used his insider clout to attempt to extort kickbacks from firms seeking business with the state. Blagojevich — previously as “Public Official A” and now by name — has repeatedly surfaced in pre-trial exchanges between the feds and Rezko’s defense team. The charges against Rezko are here and here.
In one instance detailed by the feds, Blagojevich’s campaign fund stood to gain a $1.5 million donation that Rezko and Stuart Levine, another insider cooperating with the feds, allegedly tried to extort from an investment firm. Thomas Rosenberg, also a Hollywood producer, represented that firm, which sought to invest assets held by the Illinois Teachers Retirement System. Rezko and Levine allegedly claimed they could steer investments in exchange for kickbacks.
From Judge St. Eve’s order:
In early 2004, the staff of the TRS Board had recommended that the Board allocate available funds for real estate investments among the existing TRS real estate managers, including a $220 million investment with Capri Capital. Through Levine’s arrangement, the TRS Board postponed the allocation to Capri Capital. Levine and Rezko allegedly then agreed to approach Rosenberg through an intermediary to either make a $1.5 million donation to Governor Blagojevich or pay Levine an approximate $2 million fee in order to obtain the $220 allocation. In approximately May 2004, that intermediary approached Rosenberg and informed him of Levine and Rezko’s demand. Rosenberg responded that he would not be extorted, and he thereafter threatened to inform law enforcement. Given the threat, Levine and others agreed that Capri Capital would receive the $220 million without any fees or political donations, but it would not receive any further business from the State of Illinois, including TRS. The TRS Board subsequently approved the $220 allocation to Capri Capital.
The feds alleged the same scheme in December, when they filed a document called a proffer setting forth their evidence against Rezko. The proffer used pseudonyms to describe Blagojevich and other officials:
Investment Firm 7 was a real estate investment management firm that had a long-standing relationship with TRS. In February 2004, Investment Firm 7 was supposed to receive $220 million from TRS to manage. Levine acted to stall the allocation, and planned with Rezko to approach Individual J, a principal of Investment Firm 7, with a choice: if Individual J wanted to get the $220 million for Investment Firm 7, he was either going to have to make a $1.5 million donation to Public Official A or pay Levine a 1 % fee (which would be shared with Rezko). Rezko and Levine enlisted Co-Schemer A’s help to demonstrate to Individual J that he needed Levine’s help to get the $220 million. In the course of Co-Schemer A’s efforts to prepare Individual J for Levine’s approach, Individual J realized that he was going to be extorted and threatened to expose the scheme. In light of this threat, Levine, Rezko, Co-Schemer B, and Co-Schemer A spoke on May 10 and decided that Individual J would get his $220 million without being asked for any contribution, but that Individual J would never again get any money from the state of Illinois. Investment Firm 7 did in fact receive a $220 million allocation at the May 2004 TRS Board meeting.
Rezko masterfully ingratiated himself with powerful Chicago pols. As you probably heard from national news coverage, Rezko also was a longtime supporter of Barack Obama, the community organizer turned state lawmaker turned U.S. senator turned presidential contender. More background on Rezko/Obama is here. For the identities of nearly all the characters in the upcoming Rezko trial, go here. (Separately, the feds have indicted Chris Kelly, another former top fundraiser and adviser for the governor.)
Blagojevich and his aides have steadfastly denied he is “Public Official A.” In December, when the feds described their evidence against Rezko in a document called a proffer, Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff had this to say to the Associated Press:
“No such conversation ever occurred. This administration does not do business that way.”
Ottenhoff added:
“Based on the description in the filing, it is not the governor.”
Only, as the AP noted in its story at the time, the “description” in the proffer pointed directly at the governor — not away from him. In one scene, the proffer describes a plane ride to New York after “Public Official A” reappointed Levine to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board in the fall of 2003.
After Levine was reappointed, he shared a private plane ride from New York to Chicago with Public Official A and Co-Schemer B. Levine, Public Official A, and Co-Schemer B were the only passengers on the flight. At the beginning of the flight, Levine thanked Public Official A for reappointing him to the Planning Board. Public Official A responded that Levine should only talk with “Tony” [Rezko] or [Co-Schemer B] about the board, “but you stick with us and you will do very well for yourself.”
The fact is that Blagojevich reappointed Levine to the board. If you accept this fact, then “Public Official A” can’t be anybody other than Blagojevich.
Again, the feds have not charged Blagojevich with a crime. Moreover, the feds generally proceed upward in public corruption cases from lower-ranking players to the powers that be. They grab the little guys and squeeze until the little guys give up the big guys. Therefore, the direction of the probe likely will be affected by whether the feds win at trial against Rezko. The outcome of the case against Chris Kelly also may help determine whether the feds charge the governor.
Nonetheless, there is plenty of speculation about whether the governor’s indictment is imminent. Charlie Wheeler, a retired Chicago Sun-Times reporter who heads the public affairs reporting program at the University of Illinois at Springfield, recently analyzed the proffer and concluded that Blagojevich’s indictment “seems a certainty, based on what prosecutors say they will prove in the Rezko trial.”
That, Wheeler said, is the proffer’s “logical conclusion.”
UPDATE 1
The Cap Fax Blog notes the feds don’t have an open and shut case against Rezko. There may well be some holes.
February 18th, 2008
OK, so this probably isn’t the most important endorsement that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama has earned or will earn in his race for the White House. But it certainly is the creamiest.
That’s right, Obama won the endorsement of none other than Ben and Jerry, the co-founders of Ben and Jerry’s. So grab a spoon, people! If Obama wins, maybe they’ll spread some ice cream love.
From an Obama press release:
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben and Jerry’s, publically announced their endorsement of Barack Obama for President today. Joined by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, the former John Edwards supporters said they believe Barack Obama is the best candidate to unite America and finally tackle the challenges facing our nation.
“Barack Obama believes that the special interests in Washington shouldn’t drown out the voices and basic needs of Americans,” Greenfield said. “When Barack Obama is President, we will finally have a president who is committed to ensuring all Americans have access to affordable health care and our children get the education they deserve.”
What? Nothing about ice cream for everybody?
February 18th, 2008
You probably already know about U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s concrete shoe, Tony Rezko.
Obama and Rezko engaged in a kinky real estate deal — Obama bought a mansion on Chicago’s South Side the same day that Rezko’s wife bought an adjacent lot — that is now all the talk on the presidential campaign trail. There’s even a blog dedicated to Rezko.
We may soon be hearing much more about Obama’s ties to Exelon, ComEd’s parent company, too.
A Baltimore Sun columnist reports:
A bigger question is how Obama’s Exelon links might influence his broader electricity policy at the most critical period for U.S. electricity since the 1930s. Exelon, the Illinois version of Baltimore’s Constellation Energy, is one of the country’s biggest megawatt producers, the largest nuclear plant operator and a huge Obama backer through its executives and employees.
Would a President Obama try to reform interstate electricity markets that have soaked consumers in Maryland and other deregulated states, inadequately invested in the future and unjustifiably enriched Exelon, Constellation and other companies? Or would he maintain the Bush administration’s blind eye toward evidence of wholesale-electricity market failure, irregularity and price gouging?
The columnist goes on to scrutinize Obama’s apparent ties to Exelon. Recommended reading, for sure.
UPDATE 1
Bloomberg and the Tribune have more on the Obama/Rezko land deal.
January 20th, 2008
Obama lost Nevada after losing New Hampshire. And though there’s still a chance he might stomp Clinton on Feb. 5, when Illinois and 21 other states vote, he heads into so-called “Super Tuesday” behind the perception that he’s losing.
That is not good for him.
The CapFax Blog has a great roundup of related coverage.
UPDATE 1
For the second time in recent months, Obama is pledging to be more aggressive toward Clinton (actually, both Clintons), particularly when it comes to responding to attacks.
You may recall that Obama said in the fall that he would step up his posture in the race. His announcement at that time followed months of complaints from donors that he was dropping the ball by appearing too passive.
