doi:10.7916/tt9s-hp53Oral history interview with David Axelrod, 2021Axelrod, David, 1955-oral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesPolitical oratory--United StatesCommunication in politicsCampaign managementRacism--IllinoisChicago (Ill.) Race relationsChicago (Ill.) Politics and governmentAxelrod, David, 1955-Obama, BarackWashington, Harold, 1922-1987United StatesDavid Axelrod reflects on his experiences in Chicago politics and public affairs, and he discusses Barack Obama's political campaigns for which Axelrod served as chief strategist and media advisor. Axelrod recounts his early work as a journalist, and speaks widely about his involvement with Harold Washington's mayoral administration and 1987 reelection campaign, providing details about Washington's electoral coalitions and contemporary racism in Chicago. Axelrod remembers his initial impressions of Obama, and shares memories of notable events and issues relevant to Obama's political development, including the 2000 Democratic primary in the first congressional district, in which Obama was defeated by Bobby Rush; Obama's October 2002 speech in opposition to the Iraq war; Obama's 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate and appeal among white voters in downstate Illinois; significant campaign advertisements; Hurricane Katrina and Obama's elevation to national prominence; the 2008 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses and the Obama campaign's grassroots apparatus in the state; and the Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy and Obama's A More Perfect Union speech in Philadelphia in March 2008. Also discussed are Axelrod's motivations for transitioning from political journalism to political consulting, Obama's dislike of work and life in the U.S. Senate, and Harold Washington's significance on Obama's political trajectory