David Axelrod, President Obama’s longtime strategist, has completed his full-time White House service and overseen his last political campaign. But Mr. Axelrod still advises Mr. Obama even as he has started a new Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago.
Shorn of his trademark mustache in a charity fund-raising promotion and at the behest of his wife, Susan, â€" he says that “it’s not coming back†â€" Mr. Axelrod sat down with John Harwood to discuss Mr. Obama’s State of the Union address and the state of American politics in the wake of November’s election. What follows is a condensed, edited transcript of their conversation.
How much do you still keep your hands in advising the president, talking to his team as we approach big events like the State of the Uion
He’s a friend, they are friends. When they call, I pick up the phone. I’m not involved in the way I was during the campaign or before, obviously, when I was in the White House. But I keep in touch.
What kind of a tool is the State of the Union and how do you try to use it
At this point, the concern should be less about the president’s approval rating and his favorability, which are at high levels right now. How do you use that political currency to make the case you need to make Right now, we have a standoff on these fiscal issues. This is probably the largest audience he’s going to have throughout that debate. It can move the needle of public opinion, and that’s what moves the needle in Congress. But you have to build on that speech.
How are politics in Washington different because of the election results, and how is the p! resident different
The election result has caused some introspection. Particularly in the Congress, you see Eric Cantor and others trying to redefine the Republican brand a little in the last few weeks. Obstructionism has lost its appeal to many. And certainly, the messages on issues like immigration reform and even gun safety are beginning to permeate there. So, I think this is a feeling-out time. And it is a different kind of time for the president. He’s older, he’s wiser, he’s been through a few rodeos now â€" knows where the bucking is going to come.
Certainly there’s a confidence that comes with the affirmation of the American people. There’s no denying that. Any president would take heart in achieving re-election â€" and by a wider margin than people anticipated.
But I also think a wise president doesn’t overreact to that. He undertands that these are tough problems and the politics are still difficult.
Do you see the kind of entrenched bitterness between the parties as something that is now a permanent feature of our politics Or do you see signs that it’s part of a cycle and the cycle will change
The first instinct of politicians is survival. And if the Republicans in Congress make a judgment that they as a party can’t succeed nationally with a steady diet of obstructionism, then I think things will change. And I sense that there is some of that going on. The problem is you have many members of Congress who will never face a serious general election challenge. They’ll only face serious primary challenges. That tends to polarize the Congress. And so, it’s going to take the leaders of Congress to say, “You know what We’ve got bigger concerns, and we’ve got to come to some compromise on some of these issues, or we will forever define our party in a! way that! won’t allow us to win a national election again.
Will the window for cooperation close at some point over the next few months
The real question is, what are the judgments that the Republican Party is making about what they need to strengthen their own brand I would suggest that cooperation, some progress, some demonstration of the ability to get things done is important to them. How long that will go on I don’t know. The rule of thumb is that the first two years are far more promising than the last. And [President Obama] would be wise to proceed on that assumption.
Were you responsible for the “demonization†of Wall Street, and did the president’s rhetoric go too far
No, I don’t think I was responsible for that. What was responsible for that was irresponsible behavior that helped bring about the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. I don’t thnk anybody was, as a strategy, demonizing the business community. We were too busy trying to save the country from the impacts of some irresponsible decisions that a handful of people on Wall Street made.
I understand that there are some raw feelings about some of the debate and discussion during that period. There are times when we could’ve chosen words more carefully. But I must say, I know a lot of the leaders of the financial community. They seem like tough, resilient people. I don’t think we should be focusing on a word here and a word there. Let’s focus on constructive ways to move the country forward.
I had another person in business say to me, “You know, the president just doesn’t like people who are very financially successful because he thinks their values are wrong, they’re pursuing the wrong things.†Is that true
I don’t think that’s true at all. The president respects success and particularly the ! ingenuity! behind that success.
The president admires people who have a good idea, see it through, and make something of value for the economy, for the world, for the country. He may have a different view of people who game the system â€" and who make great wealth â€" simply by doing that.
Do you think the budget sequester [across-the-board budget cuts currently scheduled for March 1 unless Congress acts] will take effect
I don’t know the answer to whether the sequester will take effect. Washington tends to work on deadlines. So, I think the next three weeks are going to be important. I know that there’s a glum mood in Washington about getting something done before March 1st. But I’m still holding out hope that reason will prevail and people will come to the table and do what the country wants them to do, which is compromise in a balanced way and move forward.
Most responsible people in Washington understand that. Most people at hom should understand that when you have debt you have to pay, you don’t simply say, “We’re gonna just cut everything in our household budget by 10%.†You decide what’s important and you make those adjustments. And that’s what we, as a country, have to do.
You helped elect the first African-American president. Is it your view going forward now that there are no identity barriers to winning the presidency Is the glass ceiling for a woman harder or less hard than it was for an African-American
A glass ceiling is hard until you break it. And that glass ceiling hasn’t been broken. But I think Hillary [Rodham Clinton] certainly has the capacity to do that if she runs. There are others. You see these things inexorably shifting. And I’m confident â€" if not in 2016, then down the line â€" that! barrier ! will fall and others will.
The younger generation of Americans is a far more tolerant generation. And because of the media age in which we live you’re gonna see these barriers fall, one by one, and probably more quickly than anybody anticipates.
What do you hope to accomplish with the Institute of Politics you’ve created at the University of Chicago
The best thing that I can do at this stage in my life is help encourage young people to get into the public arena, whatever their views. There are so many bright, young people on this campus, many of whom want to contribute but are also suspicious of the political process because of what they’ve seen. And my goal is to expose them to the many good people that I’ve met along the way, Republicans and Democrats and people with different points of view, who have performed honorable service in the arena. I want them to become acquainted with how exciting and invigorating the work of movng your community or your state or your country or the world forward is.
And so our goal is to expose them to a lot of practitioners in the field, to put them in internships, to give them a chance to really see the inside of the whole public debate from various vantage points, and then encourage them to jump in.
