David Axelrod, President

David Axelrod is one of the pre-eminent political media consultants in the United States, having scored major victories at the local, state and national levels.

In the fall of 2002, Axelrod and his Chicago-based media firm helped guide the reelection campaigns of Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa; Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island; and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer of New York; as well as the election of former White House advisor Rahm Emanuel to Congress.

A former journalist, Axelrod, 47, established his firm in 1985, after managing Paul Simon's upset victory over incumbent U.S. Senator Charles Percy in Illinois. Since then, he's produced the media and strategy for more than 100 campaigns across the nation, including Simon's 1988 bid for the U.S. Presidency.

The firm has won statewide races across the country, including in New York, California, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Nevada.

A specialist in urban politics, Axelrod also has crafted winning messages and media for mayoral candidates in many major U.S. cities. His mayoral clients have included Richard M. Daley and the late Harold Washington of Chicago; John Street of Philadelphia; Anthony Williams of Washington DC; Dennis Archer of Detroit; Michael White of Cleveland; Deedee Corradini of Salt Lake City; and Bob Lanier and Lee Brown of Houston.

Since 1996, Axelrod has served as the principal issue media consultant for the AFL-CIO; and has produced media for both the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Axelrod has served as a senior consultant to the Democratic National Committee, and was a senior message adviser to the 1992 Clinton Inaugural Committee. He also has advised major corporations on public strategies. In his book Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms, Republican consultant Ed Rollins listed Axelrod under the category of "Guys I Never Want to See Lobbing Grenades at Me Again."

A native of New York City, Axelrod graduated from the University of Chicago and spent eight years as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, where he covered national, state and local politics. In 1981, he became the youngest political writer and columnist in the paper's history. He also served as the paper's City Hall bureau chief.

Axelrod is currently an Adjunct Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University and has lectured widely on political media, including appearances at Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and Southern Illinois University. He's been a frequent guest on national TV shows, including CNN's "Crossfire," and is a regular political commentator on Chicago's public television station.