Boston Bureau

War Stories of Campaign

Campaign War Stories Shared at Harvard by Dems and Repubs
Wounds of loss are healing and sweet victory is still being savored

            By Libby Hughes, Boston Bureau for Cape Cod Today

In the past two days, the bombshell from the specter of Chicago-land politics has sent shock waves across Illinois and the nation. On the brink of an Obama honeymoon, it is sobering. Perhaps Democratic Campaign manager David Axelrod and chief strategist David Plouffe were somewhat relieved to escape the fallout from the incriminating tapes, capturing expletives and insatiable greed from the Illinois Governor, who wanted to sell President-elect Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder.

The two David Democrats

"At the worst moments, Obama is at his best."
              - David Axelrod

The two Davids, Axelrod and Plouffe were relaxed and in fine humor. The burdens of the race had been shed. There appeared to be no rancor between the Democratic strategists and the Republican campaign manager, Rick Davis (whose Alabama drawl surfaced here and there) and Republican pollster, Bill McInturff.

Excitement inside the Kennedy Forum

During a winter's night on December 11 under spitting rain at 31 degrees, a long line of umbrellas formed outside the John F. Kennedy, Jr. School of Government near the Charles River. Harvard students had entered a lottery to secure a seat on the second and third floors. Fortunately, the press could slide through another door to find their places on the press riser or on a limited number of folding chairs. The television cameras were stacked at the back and to the side. This was a prime event. Laptops were open. There was a buzz in the air. The students filled every bleacher and hung over the iron railings from above. Security police were in all corners.

Panel of rivals exchanges war stories

Once the panel of four, plus moderator Gwen Ifill of famed Washington Week and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, marched onto the stage, a hush fell over the audience. The first laugh came from Gwen Ifill, who referred to the fact that she was on the platform with four white guys.

Governor of Illinois is first question

"When did you have your last chat with the Governor of Illinois?"

She aimed her real question to David Axelrod. "When did you have your last chat with the Governor of Illinois?" The second roar of laughter. Axelrod danced around the question and said it was a painful development, which he hoped would go through a process to select a new Illinois senator.

Republicans lost

Ifill turned to McInturff, the Republican pollster, and asked if he thought a few more days might have changed the outcome of the election. McInturff replied, "No, we did not run out of time. WE LOST! And I'm happy it's over." A huge wave of laughter and applause followed his line. They were off and running.

David Plouffe's conclusion after 22 months of campaigning was that their candidate's message was consistent and the economy was important. They also looked carefully at the prism of each state.

Core of campaign

Axelrod added that the campaign was unique because of the coverage, not only at the convention, but through the debates. The message of CHANGE was at the core of the race and was defined by the incumbent leaving office. Rick Davis underlined that John McCain was a risk taker, but that the war in Iraq associated him with Bush.

Economy overrides war

David Axelrod immediately answered, "War was not the issue--the economy was. Also, John McCain was aligned to the Bush tax cuts." Rick Davis replied, "John McCain is an optimist--that's why he said the fundamentals were strong in the economy. But the economic news was seismic and was like a 'death spiral.' "

Axelrod again plowed into the center of the controversy. "Bush was oblivious to what was going on in the country. From September 15 to 26, we essentially won because of the economy."

Jeremiah Wright and race

Gwen Ifill asked Plouffe about Jeremiah Wright. He said, "We failed to do full research and were surprised at the ferocity of the reaction. Barack knew he had to respond. We didn't think it was necessary." Ifill wanted to know if Barack Obama was nervous about giving the speech on race?

Memorable speech

"He was not nervous," said Axelrod. "He wanted to write the speech himself. During a grueling campaign schedule, he wrote it on a Sunday night from 10:00 pm to 3:00 am. Within 12 hours he gave the speech. Because of my confidence in him, I went to sleep. It was an emotional moment when he gave it."

Gwen wondered if John McCain was intimidated by running against a woman and an African/American. Rick Davis assured her that it didn't matter. He also confessed that the Democrats were more disciplined than the Republicans.

Palin: hurt or help?

Ifill asked if Sarah Palin helped or hurt the Republican ticket? McInturff answered, "We were losing in July and August. There was a big field to pick from and we thought she could do a better job of giving the campaign a surge."

"In other words, you get what you pay for," quipped Ifill. "I don't think I'll touch that!" Another swell of laughter.

Axelrod stated, "Our opponents stressed that our candidate had celebrity, but no experience. Then, it backfired because Palin became a celebrity. Biden was a balance for our ticket and worked all the battleground states." Gwen rolled her eyes, remembering that she, Biden, and Palin were the satirical subjects of Saturday Night Live.

Questions

There were eight questions. Some were about public and private polling, Michigan and Florida, the field campaign, data and performance, and discipline.

One question was about Obama's steadiness, which he compared to that of Nelson Mandela. Axelrod cited his candidate's steady hand on responding to the economic crisis in September. David Plouffe referred to his colleagues as "family."  "There was no back-stabbing or infighting. They would rise and fall as a team."

Finale

Axelrod said, "At the worst moments, Obama is at his best."

It was over. Students crowded around the panelists and then disappeared into the rainy night.