The University of Chicago: A gold mine for the Obamas and their pals--and David Axelrod

"And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us — no matter what our age or background or walk of life — each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation."
From Michelle Obama's speech last night at the Democratic National Convention.

Michelle left something. She is on leave from her "public service" job at the University of Chicago--she was making $317,000 a year.

Let's go back to the 1980s:

One college lecture I remember from my days at the University of Illinois, you know, the school that is shepherding the Chicago Annenberg Challenge files--came from English professor and Mark Costello. He said something along the lines of "You know, there are some people--the administrators for sure--who only view this university as a physical plant--buildings, maintenance, and property. I see it as an idea."

But Barack and Michelle Obama see the University of Chicago Medical Center, as a job bank for themselves and their cronies. Certainly not everyone named in last week's Washington Post article got their jobs via the Obamas or their cronies, but you have to wonder about more "Chicago coincidences."

The medical center's chairwoman, Valerie Jarrett, is a close friend and top adviser who travels frequently with Barack Obama. One of Barack's best friends, Eric Whitaker, is executive vice president at the center and is now in charge of the Urban Health Initiative. Hospital board member Kelly R. Welsh is executive vice president at Northern Trust Co., which extended the couple a $1.3 million home mortgage shortly after Barack Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate. Dan Shomon, Barack Obama's former campaign manager, is a university lobbyist. Jarrett, Whitaker, Welsh and Shomon all declined to be interviewed or did not respond to requests.

Shortly after Barack Obama was sworn-in as a US Senator, Michelle got a promotion and a big raise. One of her tasks, according to the Post, was to find ways to cut down on the congestion of the hospital's emergency room. Specifically, have poor patients with no insurance or who were on Medicare or Medicaid, use nearby, but less prestigious hospitals. Michelle needed help to pull this off, but who should she call?

That effort, in time, inspired a broader program the hospital now calls its Urban Health Initiative. To ensure community support, Michelle Obama and others in late 2006 recommended that the hospital hire the firm of David Axelrod, who a few months later became the chief strategist for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Axelrod's firm recommended an aggressive promotional effort modeled on a political campaign -- appoint a campaign manager, conduct focus groups, target messages to specific constituencies, then recruit religious leaders and other third-party "validators." They, in turn, would write and submit opinion pieces to Chicago publications.

One key recommendation from Axelrod's firm: "Respond quickly to opposition activity."

Does that mean confronting community activists? You know, people like the young Barack Obama?

Obama for his part served as a part-time law professor at the University of Chicago until his election to the US Senate.

Axelrod. He's gotten a free pass from the media, it could be his basset hound looks, or more likely, he's escaped scrutiny because the mainstream media is in the tank for Obama.

Axelrod was once a political reporter for the Chicago Tribune. He quit to manage the Senate campaign of Democrat Paul Simon, who edged out incumbent Republican Charles Percy in 1984.

Even on Illinois standards, it was a dirty campaign--and the dirt mostly came from supporters of the guy who wore the bow tie from downstate Makanda.

Simon died in 2003.

In 1984, Ronald Reagan crushed Democrat Walter Mondale in the presidential race. The Gipper easily won Illinois--which was then a "swing state." Meanwhile Percy, running for his fourth term, was weakened in that year's Republican Primary by a candidate who questioned Percy's conservative credentials. Simon won the general election, but by just 88,000 votes.

How did that happen? Sources familiar with Simon's 1984 run tell me that the campaign spent less than $7 million. But a pro-Israel California businessman, Michael Goland, spent $1.2 million of his own money--a huge amount at that time--on attack ads against Percy.

But you didn't hear much about this story in Illinois. The media back then favored the Democrats--that hasn't changed--and was sympathetic to Axelrod, who of course was a former reporter. Simon was once the owner of a small downstate Illinois newspaper.

Percy, who by the way as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman achieved far more than the ineffectual Simon did in his 12 years in the Senate, filed suit after his defeat. Percy charged collusion occurred between Goland and Simon. The FEC fined Goland $5,000.

The worst was yet to come for Goland. Two years later Goland got caught illegally financing third party conservative Edward B. Vallen, who was running against incumbent Democratic Senator Alan Cranston. He donated $120,000 to the conservative, but Goland, who was a Cranston supporter, hoped that Vallen would pull votes from the Republican candidate. Cranston won.

Goland's cash was surreptitiously hidden in the guise of 56 individuals.

In 1990, Goland was found guilty of exceeding the federal limit on individual donations--which was then $1,000, he was fined, and served 90 days in jail.

It can be argued that had Paul Simon lost in 1984, and had Goland not dumped cash into his effort to defeat Percy, Axelrod would have crawled back to the Chicago Tribune.

And last week, Obama complained to Axelrod's old employer, complaining of "Karl Rove's old tactics."

Meanwhile, Obama has his own Karl Rove--David Axelrod.

In 1987, Chicago Magazine profiled Axelrod. The article's headline was "Hatchet Man: The Rise of David Axelrod."

He's risen at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He's risen within the Obama campaign.

He's risen against community activists.

Axelrod: A bad idea.

Related posts:

Coincidences and the Las Vegas Rezko arrest warrant

The Daley family, the Ayers family, and the Land of Coincidences

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