A 15-Minute Summary & Analysis of David Axelrod's Believer: My Forty Years in Politics by Instaread Summaries

Author:Instaread Summaries [Summaries, Instaread]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, American Government, National
ISBN: 9781508757245
Google: foh7zgEACAAJ
Goodreads: 25556472
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
Published: 2015-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

The Road to Self-Discovery

In his professional relationships, as in his marriage, Axelrod experienced personal growth that is chronicled through his interactions with journalists, politicians, and other movers and shakers in both Chicago and on the national stage. At the Tribune, the veteran journalists, who looked and acted like something out of old Hollywood movies such as The Front Page, helped him learn to charge ahead fearlessly. Young Axelrod saw himself as a relentless crusader against the patronage-based Chicago machine. When he looked back, though, Axelrod realized that nothing was that simple. One of the reasons he came to understand this was his involvement with Dan Rostenkowski, the colorful, larger-than-life congressman who did great work for the country as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, yet stole from his own office in true Chicago machine style.[1] Axelrod, who worked on Rostenkowski’s 1992 and 1994 campaigns, had to accept that were two sides to every story, not just one. Another example came from the Chicago patronage system, as well as the remarkably similar congressional process known as earmarks. Forty years later, Axelrod admitted to himself that although he still did not like earmarks, he could see how they were useful in accomplishing worthwhile goals.

As it should be, Axelrod’s own character is the most vivid one in his autobiography. He is written as the rumpled, often bemused and junk food-swilling guy on the campaign plane with the stacks of polls, the guy who works impossibly long hours trying to get at the unvarnished truth, whether as a reporter or a political guru. In his book, he sees himself clearly, admitting his weaknesses and stressing, even after forty years, that he can do better.

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