David Axelrod

The architect of President Obama's political narrative has a new story to tell: His own. David Axelrod, Obama's longtime confidant and former strategist, will write a “personal biography of his professional life,” according to publisher Penguin Press, which announced the deal Tuesday. The memoir will reflect on Axelrod's decades of political experience, from his days as a young newspaperman at the Chicago Tribune to his time as the president's senior advisor. In addition to dishing on his 20-year friendship with Obama, the book is expected to include tales about a range of other political figures, from Hillary Rodham Clinton and Deval Patrick to John Edwards and Rod Blagojevich.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Thursday waded into the heated contest to choose his successor, calling for two ads aimed at Latino voters that attack candidates Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel to be taken off the airwaves. Both were financed with independent donations not controlled by the candidates. Villaraigosa, who has not made an endorsement in the race, said a TV ad from the super PAC Lots of People Who Support Eric Garcetti falsely portrayed Greuel as a supporter of Proposition 187, the 1994 state ballot measure that sought to deny illegal immigrants access to public education and other services.

David Axelrod, former senior advisor to President Obama, is joining the list of  one-time Obama administration officials who will be penning memoirs next year, Penguin Press has announced . Other Obama administration officials with books on the way include former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Axelrod's book is scheduled for a fall 2014 release. "Over the past 30 years as a journalist, political consultant and senior advisor to the President, David Axelrod has had a front-row seat to our political process at every level," Penguin Press editor-in-chief Ann Godoff said in a statement, "His idealism is infectious and his storytelling gifts are prodigious.

David Axelrod, former senior advisor to President Obama, is joining the list of  one-time Obama administration officials who will be penning memoirs next year, Penguin Press has announced . Other Obama administration officials with books on the way include former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Axelrod's book is scheduled for a fall 2014 release. "Over the past 30 years as a journalist, political consultant and senior advisor to the President, David Axelrod has had a front-row seat to our political process at every level," Penguin Press editor-in-chief Ann Godoff said in a statement, "His idealism is infectious and his storytelling gifts are prodigious.

President Obama faces a “titanic struggle” to win reelection, his top campaign strategist, David Axelrod, said Tuesday, given high unemployment and the poisonous partisan atmosphere in Washington. "In 2008, we had the wind at our backs," Axelrod said, according to MSNBC. "Now, we don't have the wind at our back. We have the wind in our faces, because the American people have the wind in their faces. " Speaking at forum at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Axelrod had harsh words for Republicans, who, he said, had blocked the president from achieving major policy goals.

WASHINGTON -- In the nation's capital, fighting about leaking information to the media is a bit like fighting about talking on cellphones in public. Everybody says they don't like it, but everybody does it. Tuesday's volley over alleged leaks of classified information from the Obama administration was a classic example. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney used a major foreign policy speech to suggest that the White House leaked classified information about covert operations for political gain.

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Oct. 14 - 20 in PDF format This week's TV Movies     SATURDAY Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC McLaughlin Group 6:30 p.m. KCET SUNDAY The Chris Matthews Show Next presidential debate; Bill Clinton's role: Andrew Sullivan, Newsweek; John Heilemann, New York Magazine; Nia-Malika Henderson, the Washington Post; Liz Marlantes, Christian Science Monitor. (N) 5:30 a.m. KNBC Today Betsey Johnson.

David Axelrod, former White House advisor and senior strategist for President Obama's 2008 and 2012 election campaigns, is joining MSNBC and NBC News as a senior political analyst, the networks announced today. It marks a return to the world of journalism for the formerly mustachioed politico. He was the City Hall bureau chief at the Chicago Tribune for eight years before launching his own media and political consulting firm.  His move is the latest in a post-election reshuffling at the cable news networks.

David Axelrod doesn't do encores, as a rule. That's a boldfaced and underscored imperative. There are other rules--"codes in life"--in his hip pocket that he'll pull out when the time is right: Don't welsh on a bet. Can't fink--ever. Always take the offensive. Those are also imperatives. But the no encores rule doesn't preclude a "second set," in jazz parlance--when the personnel are warmed up, when things are getting good, when the magic can really happen.

Sen. Barack Obama strode into a hotel ballroom filled with expectation one recent Tuesday and declared that his quest for the Oval Office, which "began as a whisper in Springfield, has swelled to a chorus of millions calling for change. " That's the essence of the Illinois senator's message: Obama equals change; Hillary Rodham Clinton equals status quo. All else cascades from there. In this contest -- where the candidates are but a micron apart on most policy matters -- message is everything.

The architect of President Obama's political narrative has a new story to tell: His own. David Axelrod, Obama's longtime confidant and former strategist, will write a “personal biography of his professional life,” according to publisher Penguin Press, which announced the deal Tuesday. The memoir will reflect on Axelrod's decades of political experience, from his days as a young newspaperman at the Chicago Tribune to his time as the president's senior advisor. In addition to dishing on his 20-year friendship with Obama, the book is expected to include tales about a range of other political figures, from Hillary Rodham Clinton and Deval Patrick to John Edwards and Rod Blagojevich.

David Axelrod, former White House advisor and senior strategist for President Obama's 2008 and 2012 election campaigns, is joining MSNBC and NBC News as a senior political analyst, the networks announced today. It marks a return to the world of journalism for the formerly mustachioed politico. He was the City Hall bureau chief at the Chicago Tribune for eight years before launching his own media and political consulting firm.  His move is the latest in a post-election reshuffling at the cable news networks.

President Obama's longtime campaign advisor David Axelrod put his money where his mouth is -- or slightly above it to be more accurate -- having his trademark mustache shaved off on live TV this morning, making good on a pledge to raise $1 million for epilepsy research. Axelrod, who'd already offered up his lip spinach as a wager once before -- vowing to shave it off if Obama didn't carry the electoral votes in Pennsylvania, Minnesota or Michigan -- had promised to shave it off in exchange for $1 million in donations to CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy)

With election day behind him, President Obama's top political strategist said Sunday the president enters his next political battle, negotiations over the looming fiscal deadlines, with a mandate from voters. David Axelrod, appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," said the president articulated his position on taxes--including raising taxes on income of more than $250,000--during the campaign and Americans seemed to agree. "You look at those exit polls and a healthy majority of Americans agree with him," Axelrod said.

Click here to download TV listings for the week Nov. 4 - 10 in PDF format This week's TV Movies       SATURDAY Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC The Chris Matthews Show Second term; why GOP lost: Bob Woodward, the Washington Post; Helene Cooper, the New York Times; Kathleen Parker, the Washington Post; David Ignatius, the Washington Post. (N) 5 p.m. KNBC, Sunday 5:30 a.m. KNBC McLaughlin Group 6:30 p.m. KCET Today (N)

A top advisor to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney warned that the Obama administration may be about to “jettison” its international partners as the president contemplates one-on-one talks with Iran over its nuclear weapons program. Obama's side emphasized his commitment to the international coalition that the U.S. has led against Iran and credited the president with bringing worldwide pressure to bear on the Tehran regime. The two sides clashed via representatives on the Sunday morning talk shows as President Obama and Romney prepared for Monday's final campaign debate, which is scheduled to focus on foreign policy.

David Axelrod, a top advisor to President Obama and the main architect of his election victory in 2008, will leave the White House next year and return to Chicago to work on the president's reelection campaign, a White House aide said Thursday. Axelrod has not specified a departure date, but he plans to remain in his current position "well into 2011," the aide said. Axelrod, who calls himself a "Chicagoan on assignment," has long made it clear that he misses his hometown and will return before the end of Obama's four-year term.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Thursday waded into the heated contest to choose his successor, calling for two ads aimed at Latino voters that attack candidates Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel to be taken off the airwaves. Both were financed with independent donations not controlled by the candidates. Villaraigosa, who has not made an endorsement in the race, said a TV ad from the super PAC Lots of People Who Support Eric Garcetti falsely portrayed Greuel as a supporter of Proposition 187, the 1994 state ballot measure that sought to deny illegal immigrants access to public education and other services.

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Oct. 14 - 20 in PDF format This week's TV Movies     SATURDAY Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC McLaughlin Group 6:30 p.m. KCET SUNDAY The Chris Matthews Show Next presidential debate; Bill Clinton's role: Andrew Sullivan, Newsweek; John Heilemann, New York Magazine; Nia-Malika Henderson, the Washington Post; Liz Marlantes, Christian Science Monitor. (N) 5:30 a.m. KNBC Today Betsey Johnson.

WASHINGTON - Among the people watching Mitt Romney's European misadventures with interest on Thursday was President Obama's top campaign strategist, David Axelrod. “It's been quite amazing so far,” Axelrod remarked Thursday. “I'm almost speechless. That doesn't happen too often.” Romney made headlines on his first day abroad by calling some elements of the British planning for the Olympics “disconcerting,” to the apparent annoyance of some of his hosts. Romney later emphasized that he was “very delighted with the prospects of a highly successful Olympic games.” PHOTOS: Romney's trip abroad At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney pointedly noted, “In keeping with our special relationship, the president also made it clear that he has the utmost confidence in our close friend and ally, the United Kingdom, as they finalize preparations to host the London Olympics.” British news outlets also pointed out that Romney appeared to commit a faux pas by disclosing the fact that he met with the head of MI-6, the British foreign intelligence service.