WASHINGTON — David Axelrod, a top adviser to President Barack 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 re-election campaign, a White House aide said Thursday.
Axelrod has not specified a departure date, but he plans to remain in his position “well into 2011,” the aide said.
Axelrod, who calls himself a “Chicagoan on assignment,” has long made it clear that he missed his hometown and would return before the end of the four-year term. His wife still lives in the city.
One of Obama’s most trusted aides, Axelrod occupies a small office just steps from the Oval Office. His portfolio is a broad one. He shapes the president’s message, oversees the speechwriting team, plots political strategy and advises on policy. A longtime campaign strategist, he is aware of his limitations when it comes to complex policy matters.
Other White House aides said part of Axelrod’s role is reminding the staff of the president’s campaign commitments and making sure the White House agenda stays true to Obama’s promises.
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, a pragmatist when it comes to policy matters, once described the difference between himself and Axelrod as “prose” vs. “poetry.”
