Mother: Myril Axelrod-Bennett (born in 1926) - After leaving her hometown of Jersey City, NJ (across the Hudson River from NYC) she once confided in an interview to the Globe, "I couldn't wait to get out of there!" Myril Bennett kick-started her career much like her son David Axelrod did, completing a bachelor's degree in journalism at New York University while covering news and politics for an ad-free leftist New York City daily newspaper called "PM".

Mother: Myril Axelrod-Bennett (born in 1926) - After leaving her hometown of Jersey City, NJ (across the Hudson River from NYC) she once confided in an interview to the Globe, "I couldn't wait to get out of there!" Myril Bennett kick-started her career much like her son David Axelrod did, completing a bachelor's degree in journalism at New York University while covering news and politics for an ad-free leftist New York City daily newspaper called "PM".




The PM, where many of the writers there had been known to be members of the Communist Party, was eventually sold, and published its final issue on June 22, 1948.



Around this time in 1948 when the PM folded, Bennett Myril had married her husband Joseph Axelrod. David's sister, named Joan, is born (exact date unknown: Approx. 1949 to 1954 using math).



David M. Axelrod was born on February 22, 1955.



From 1955 to 1974



Axelrod's mother says, "when he was 7, [Axelrod] devoured books about Lincoln and Nixon while the other children read the Hardy Boys. When he was 8, he investigated every detail of John F. Kennedy's assassination. When he was 9, he absorbed Lyndon Johnson's inauguration from the cherry picker of a news van."



In 1960 when Axelrod was five, he had been taken by his older sister (Joan Axelrod) to a campaign rally where he heard John F Kennedy speak. (During this time Nixon had waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy. Nixon had an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of California in 1962.)



In 1963 Axelrod's parents divorce when he was 8 years old.



Little David's 6th Grade Graduation (on the far left)







In 1968 as a 13-year-old campaign volunteer, Axelrod sold lapel buttons and bumper stickers for the short-lived presidential bid of Robert, JFK's brother (Ironically, Bill Ayers dedicated a book to Sirhan Sirhan, Bobby's killer.)



In 1973 Axelrod graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan (NYC)



After High School, Axelrod Moves from NYC to Chicago



In 1974 Axelrod's father Joseph (a psychologist) dies in May 1974 from suicide (3 months after Axelrod turned 19)



1974 to 1976 - Axelrod attends the University of Chicago (for 2 years). While in college, he also meets his future wife, a business student named Susan Landau.



*Axelrod's mother says of this time, "David's first job was with the Hyde Park Herald." (while he was still in college...a neighborhood paper in Chicago that was first published in 1953 by Bruce Sagan). "That's when he first met Obama, who was then a community organizer," she says. (But how could this be if Obama was in Hawaii and still in high school at this time?) His mother also says, "As Axelrod's friendship with the young Obama grew, so too did his career." (But Obama was at Occidental College in L.A. in 1979 until 1981, then at Columbia University (NYC) from 1981 to 1983. Being elderly now, she may have been a little confused about the time-line.)



The 50 Year Edition of the Hyde Park Herald







In 1976 Axelrod graduated from the University of Chicago majoring in political science. Axelrod's mother says, "In 1976 my son had it made after graduating from the University of Chicago."



In 1977 Axelrod started working at the Chicago Tribune (until 1984). His mother says, "An internship with the Chicago Tribune led to a job there, and Axelrod became the paper's youngest political writer. It was his dream job."



In 1979 Axelrod marries Susan Landau.



In 1981 Axelrod's daughter Lauren is born.



From 1981 to 1984



* Under defined: Is David Axelrod quietly working at the Chicago Tribune and raising his daughter during this time? From 1981 to 1985 is also a very "under-defined" part of Obama's life. From 1981 to 1983 Obama attended Columbia University (NYC) but when exactly did Obama first move to Chicago...was it in 1985 when Obama became director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP)? Also, from 1984 to 1987 Bill Ayers received 3 degrees from Bank Street College (NYC).



1982 - "Project Vote" is founded (an arm of ACORN)



In 1984 Axelrod quits the Chicago Tribune (after he was passed over for a promotion - he had disliked what he saw as heavy-handed editors and second-guessing of his analysis). He then started working for the campaign of U.S. Senator Paul Simon with Rahm Emanuel (a good move on David's part!). Thus begins Axelrod's political consulting career.



In 1985 Axelrod (at 30 years old) formed a political consultancy company, Axelrod & Associates. (From Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to presidential candidate John Edwards to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Axelrod has a long list of political clients and knows political reporters nationwide.)



Also this year (1985) ACORN opens it's first office in Chicago when Obama is NOW in Chicago and becomes director of DCP for next 3 years (Developing Communities Project). This may have been the time that Axelrod's mother had been refering to earlier when she said,"He (Axelrod) first met Obama for the first time."



In 1986 Axelrod worked on Stevenson’s failed campaign for governor.



In 1987 Axelrod worked on the successful reelection campaign of Harold Washington (Chicago's first black mayor). This is when Valerie Jarrett first began working for Mayor Harold Washington as Deputy Corporation Counsel for Finance and Development. (Is this also when Bill Ayers first moved back to his hometown of Chicago; and when Axelrod, Obama, and Bill Ayers had all met for the first time together?)



Also this year, David's son Ethan Axelrod is born (6 years after Ethan's older sister Lauren is born).



1988 - Obama is baptized at Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ before going to to Kenya for the first time and enrolling at Harvard University.



In 1989 Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is elected, with Axelrod as his strategist, working again with Rahm Emanuel. Also during this time Valerie Jarrett becomes Mayor Daley's Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development. Bill Ayers helps Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is shaping the city's school reform program.



In 1991 Obama's future wife Michelle introduces Obama to Valerie Jarrett, who was then the Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard Daley.



In 1992 Axelrod meets with Obama (while Obama was on vacation from Harvard?) through Betty Lu Saltzmann (a woman from Chicago's "lakefront liberal crowd" that ran black voter registration drives with Obama such as "Project Vote"). Is the really the time that Axelrod first met Obama?



1992 to 1997 - Axelrod was strategist for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's re-elections. (who was also re-elected again in 1999, 2003 and 2007 with Axelrod's help). Obama graduates from Harvard in 1993 and moves back to Chicago.



In 1998 Axelrod's wife (Susan) and his mother co-founded "Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy" (CURE) in Chicago. Axelrod's daughter (Lauren, who is then 17) suffers from developmental disabilities associated with chronic epileptic seizures.



C.U.R.E.

730 N. Franklin St. Suite 404

Chicago, IL, 60654

http://www.cureepilepsy.org



In 2002 Obama consulted with Axelrod before he delivered his famed anti-war speech and asked Axelrod to read drafts of his future book "The Audacity of Hope".



*When Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope" was later published (the 2nd book written by then Senator Obama) it became # 1 on the New York Times Bestseller List after it was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey in the fall of 2006. The book's advance from the publisher (totaling $1.9 million) had contracted for three books. The title of this book was derived from a sermon delivered by Obama's pastor, the Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ.



In 2002 Axelrod was retained by the Liberal Party of Ontario, Canada.



In 2003 Barack Obama ignored Axelrod's advice to run for governor of Chicago, and instead convinced Axelrod to join his campaign as a strategist during his race for the Senate.



In 2004 (January) a six-month investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times on "The Hired Truck Program" led to a series of articles that revealed political corruption and mob connections. The scandal sparked a Federal investigation into the hiring practices of Robert Sorichat (Mayor Daley's former patronage chief) at Chicago City Hall (Axelrod had been Mayor Daley's political strategist). 2 years later Robert Sorich was convicted on two counts of mail fraud for rigging Chicago city jobs and promotions.



Also in 2004 - When Obama decided to run for the Senate in 2004, Axelrod turned down candidates with bigger pockets to join him. Robert Gibbs was also hired by Obama in 2004 for his U.S. Senate campaign after an Axelrod introduction.



In 2005 Axelrod was credited with assembling the campaign management team which succeeded in getting Obama elected as a U.S. Senator for Illinois.



Barack Obama becomes the chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services



Also in 2005 (on March 11) C.U.R.E. Keynote Address by Obama: "I will go back to Washington and work with my colleague Rahm Emanuel and others (David M. Axelrod) to demand more federal funding for epilepsy research." CURE has received over $100 million in federal funding for epilepsy research - - - mostly through the United States Department of Health and Human Services (NIH).



Also in 2005 Valerie Jarrett promoted Michelle Obama to Vice President for Community and External Affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center (Michelle's reported salary: $275,000 to $325,000 - a high-paying job that was so important then, has since been abolished?) While there, Michelle Obama, Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod , started a program called the Urban Health Initiative to find doctors for low-income people (who lacked insurance and were flooding the University of Chicago Medical Center's emergency rooms for medical care.) The University of Chicago Medical Center hired Axelrod's firm called ASK Public Strategies to help. That year the Obamas had purchased a new home in Hyde Park for $1.65 million ($300,000 below the asking price). See "Patient Dumping" below.



Axelrod's firm "ASK" specialized in a practice known as “astroturfing,” which involves setting up front groups that appear to be independent but are, in fact, backed financially by Axelrod’s corporate clients. When ComEd, the Chicago-based utility, wanted to raise electric rates after a 10-year freeze, ASK formed a group called Consumers Organized for Reliable Electricity, or CORE, to help win over public support.



In 2006 Axelrod was the chief political adviser for Rahm Emanuel (who had wanted to keep his seat open after his term as Obama's present Chief of Staff). Axelrod was instrumental in helping Emanuel in the 2006 campaign to take over the House of Representatives from the Republicans. His strategy then was to market a personality (as in Obama's campaign), rather than market actual policies or issues (as noted in the current healthcare debates).



In 2006, for a Father's Day article for the Chicago Tribune, Axelrod described his father as "my best friend and hero", an immigrant who had fled the anti-Jewish pogroms of eastern Europe, survived an unhappy, failed marriage, yet never showed any signs of sadness..."It has taken me more than 30 years to say out loud that the man I most loved and admired took his own life."



In 2007 with Axelrod's skill and cunning, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley easily wins re-election with over 70% of the votes. (Then, Mayor Daley had broke his usual custom and endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president. A few days later, Obama had endorsed Mayor Daley - tit-for-tat.)



In 2008 Axelrod became Obama's chief strategist and media advisor for Barack's 2008 presidential campaign.



In 2008 David Axelrod is connected to Michelle Obama's "Patient Dumping" controversy - Links:



> http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2009/07/23/michelle-obama-patient-dumpimg?blog=1&title=michelle-obama-patient-dumpimg&disp=single&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1



>http://michellemalkin.com/2009/03/03/michelle-obamas-patient-dumping-scheme/



Before joining Obama’s presidential campaign, Axelrod had found his niche: consulting for African-American candidates. The key to Axelrod’s success in electing African-American candidates is his ability to sell them to white voters (like he did with Generation "Y" in Obama's 2008 election.)



See my blog: "How Obama Won the Election" (Demographics)



http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2009/09/18/how-obama-won-the-presidency-in-2008-and



Rahm (Israel) "Deadfish" Emanuel - 50 Years Old (Thumbing his nose at the U.S. taxpayers.)







Obama Wins Presidential Election - David Axelrod gets the title "White House Senior Adviser"



In 2009 (January) as a VIP, Axelrod's mother (Myril Bennett, with her daughter and Axelrod's sister, Joan Axelrod-Lehrich) attended a dinner that Obama had hosted the night before his inauguration.



In 2009 (February) Parade Magazine did a cover story on David and Susan Axelrod's experiences with epilepsy.



In 2009 (April) Newsweek Magazine also did a cover story on David and Susan Axelrod's experiences with epilepsy.



In 2009 (July) President Obama nominated Dr. Francis S. Collins to be the new director of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (NIH) which has over a $30 billion annual budget.



In 2009 (August) Axelrod's ties are targeted to profits in the healthcare fight - Links:



> http://michellemalkin.com/2009/08/18/axelrods-profits-uh-whos-on-the-take-from-the-drug-lobby-again/



> http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090819/pl_politico/26240



In 2009 (September) David Axelrod had strong words for Americans who demonstrated at the Capitol in opposition of the president's health care reform plans. "My message to them is, they're wrong," Axelrod said on CBS's "Face the Nation."



2009 - Son, Ethan Axelrod (now 22 years old) graduates from Colorado College and gets a job writing for the "left-leaning" Huffington Post website (for Arianna Huffington) David Axelrod is now a father of 3 children.



2009 - Axelrod's Disturbing Revelation: "quitting was Van Jones’ own decision.”



My note:



*They will always cover-up for a fellow socialist. A socialist is a "watermellon" - "green" (environmentalist) on the outside and "red" (communist) on the inside. It's interesting how socialists criticize the capitalist system to their uninformed leftist followers, while at the same time getting filthy rich themselves!



LATEST NEWS: David Axelrod recently took a poke at Dick Morris (also a political consultant) and rebutted Karl Rove (a political analyst) for their opinions of Obama's healthcare plan.



Looking pompous and "all-knowing" in an interview on the "No Spin Zone" (Bill O'Reilly's "The Factor" on FOX News) Axelrod said, "President Obama was talking straight with the American people about his plan. In the last decade, most of which Mr. Rove was in the White House, insurance premiums have doubled and out-of-pocket costs have gone up tremendously."



Axelrod also ridiculed Dick Morris' argument that insuring 40-million more people will create a dire shortage of doctors. "The AMA supports this, the nurses support this, all the medical personnel support this reform. I don't know what medical school Dick Morris went to, but the doctors and nurses of this country support this reform." Axelrod had pontificated.



Jarrett and Axelrod (trying to figure out what the heathcare plan is really about.)







(This blogger saw nothing in David Axelrod's resume to suggest that he had any type of medical background either...he specializes in Talking Points. And Axelrod's claim about doctors and nurses backing Obama's plan is at the very least, "misleading". From everything this blogger has read elsewhere, most doctors and nurses are AGAINST Obama's plan. And even if the AMA does endorse Obama's plan, only 33% of doctors actually belong to the AMA - and just because one or two "nurse's unions" that are tied to the SEUI endorse it, they don't represent ALL the nurses.)



Is Washington Getting Too Fat?



(Axelrod's favorite Chicago restaurant is Manny's, a New York-style deli.)







Axelrod (aka "Axe") is also known for: Ever-changing ring tones on his cellphone, from Bruce Springsteen to Stevie Wonder to Simon and Garfunkel. All things Chicago, but manages to sincerely root for both the White Sox and the Cubs.



He has homes in Chicago and Michigan, and an apartment in Washington DC.



David Axelrod's annual salary as a senior advisor for Obama in 2009: $172,200 + "Gold-Plated" plans for healhtcare and retirement benifits.



Source:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/8069171/White-House-Staff-Salaries-2009



$$$ Like Obama and all his friends, David Axelrod has no problems paying the rent $$$



Axelrod will receive $3 million from the sale of his two media consulting firms, according to the first reporting of income and assets when he entered government service in a 2009 report. In addition, Mr. Axelrod took a salary of $896,776 last year from "AKP and D" and reported $651,914 in partnership income from the two companies.



In total, Mr. Axelrod reported assets valued between $6.9 million and $9.5 million. Mr. Axelrod's clients were mostly political campaigns, including those of Rep. Patrick Kennedy, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. He also reported receiving money from large corporations including the nuclear energy company Exelon Corp.



David Axelrod's political consulting services were operated through his firm "AKP & D Message and Media". He also operated a second business from the same office, ASK Public Strategies, which creates strategy and advertising campaigns for corporate clients. The partners include Eric Sedler (the "S" in ASK), 39, a former public relations director at AT&T and corporate-reputation specialist at PR giant Edelman and the company's managing partner, and John Kupper (the "K" in ASK), 51, a former congressional press secretary and ad-industry consultant.



ASK's operations, client roster, and revenue remain confidential, but customers and public records confirm the agency has run campaigns for the Chicago Children's Museum, ComEd, Cablevision, and AT&T. The firm has helped set up front organizations that were listed as sponsors of public-issue ads, a practice referred to as "astroturfing." (noted earlier)



In 2004 Cablevision hired ASK to set up a group called New York Association for Better Choices to help block a new stadium for the New York Jets in Manhattan. ASK's $1.1 million fee was listed as the "largest lobbying contract" of the year in the annual report of the state's lobbying commission.



In 2006, Commonwealth Edison hired ASK to create a group known as CORE (Consumers Organized for Reliable Electricity), which described itself on its Web site as "a coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations," supporting a rate hike. After a complaint was filed with state regulators, ComEd acknowledged that it had bankrolled the entire $15 million effort.



In 2007, the University of Chicago Hospital hired ASK to assist in marketing a plan for steering patients who don't have health insurance to other health care facilities, a plan with which now-First Lady Michelle Obama was associated, working for the hospital. Critics argue that the plan dumps costly patients simply to increase the hospital's bottom line. ("Patient Dumping")



In 2008, when appointed presidential adviser, Axelrod divested of his equity interest in ASK.



Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Axelrod



See also: Mayor Harold Washington / David Axelrod / Valerie Jarrett / Mayor Richard M. Daley / Michelle and Barack Obama / Bill Ayers



Van Jones = Frank Davis = Bill Ayers = Bernardine Dohrn = Jeremiah Wright = Tony Rezko = Rashid Khalidi = Valerie Jarrett = Raila Ordinga = Carol Browner = Rahm Emanuel = Henry Gates = John Holdren = Rosa Brooks = Eric Holder = Ezekiel Emanuel = BARACK OBAMA