Axelrod’s Role in the Obama Administration: the New Karl Rove?

Politico’s Kenneth Vogel starts the vetting process early for David Axelrod in case the Chicago operative who steered the Obama campaign to victory is asked to play Karl Rove’s role in the new administration.

What was I just saying about Obama possibly following in Dubya’s shoes by not knowing the difference between campaigning and governing?

Vogel tells us, “The portfolios of Axelrod’s firms already include some work that could be awkward for Obama.”

Here’s a sampling of potential problem areas highlighted by Vogel:

“In 2004, a George Soros-funded outside group called the Media Fund, which spent tens of millions of dollars in support of Democrat John Kerry’s presidential campaign, paid nearly $240,000 to the AKP&D’s predecessors to produce ads. Obama has decried the influence of such outside groups, and the Media Fund last year paid a $580,000 fine to settle Federal Election Commission charges accusing the group of illegally spending $53 million, mostly on ads boosting Kerry.

“In 2006, Michelle Obama, the first-lady-to-be, urged the University of Chicago’s hospital, where she served as an executive, to hire ASK to drum up community support for a controversial urban health initiative, an August Washington Post story revealed.

“In early 2007, ASK was hired to rally public support for a new facility for the Chicago Children's Museum, which was supported by Mayor Richard Daley, whose campaign since 1999 has paid $950,000 to the predecessor to AKP&D. Months after the museum hired ASK, Obama announced that he had requested a $1 million earmark for the project.”

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