Everything Bush did was designed for him to keep power; their "permanent campaign" was a significant detriment to the country.

I hope Obama's "campaign" presidency is a campaign to ensure that his initiatives pass into law more than simply making him look good/indispensible.

As someone who has worked with David Axelrod in the past, this is a guy with a lot of governing experience ... he's been Mayor Daley's political consigliere for 20 years.  You'd be surprised just how little ideological politics there is in Chicago ... Axelrod had a huge hand in creating that atmosphere.  He will be the ice to Rahm Emanuel's fire, the guy who looks for a way to make every policy issue an opportunity to forge consensus and lower the political temperature.  We're going to miss him here deeply, I'm sure the Mayor is in mourning right now.

l think part of his unique administration will be contacting the millions of supporters that worked so hard for him and telling them to contact their congress people to help get our agenda passed.
The netroots has been doing this for years already, so it's only a few quick steps to get them fired up and making calls.

Oh come on ... Axelrod and Emanuel are NOT DLC types.  

Geez, these people are a tightly knit, winning team.  And Rahm could be a very good ballast to Obama.  They can hit the ground running, knowing each other's moves.

Why don't we save some of this criticism and see how President Obama manages the first 100?

If he chooses someone really troublesome (I would be very unhappy with Colin Powell on the Cabinet), go ahead and shout about it, but otherwise, give the guy a break.

Actually, some of the remarks above would suggest otherwise. It will be interesting to see.

You need a mix of policy and political types in the White House.  I think a lot of people in the lefty blogosphere have a naive view of how governing actually works.  I was Mayor Daley's speechwriter, meaning that I worked with David Axelrod a lot ... Axelrod didn't always get his way in the Mayor's office, policy often overrode him, and I'm sure he'll expect a similar atmosphere in the White House.  Just because you have a voice for the politics doesn't mean that politics is always going to win. Michelle Obama was a policy wonk in the Mayor's Office, President Obama is going to have enormous respect for the wonks and won't just cave to the gurus. The bottom line is that Obama trusts Axelrod and that's exactly who you need in any government office, someone you trust completely.

but i'm certain you knew that.

i seriously doubt that you want the facts, but axelrod is probably more qualified than most who make it to the white house.  he quickly rose through the ranks of journalists at the chicago tribune, becoming its political columist six years out of college.

his reformer credentials started with working with paul simon, and was one of the first democratic consultants to understand how critical message was to winning campaigns.

but the dumbest assumption on your part is your belief that axelrod is the political brains behind obama.  sure, he's one (as is gibbs).  but barack obama is the strategic thinker here.  having talked politics with both obama and bill clinton, i can tell you that obama is a lot smarter about the subject than the former president.  it's not even close.

your conclusion is flawed because you started from a position of pure ignorance.  i get that you (and others) underestimate barack obama.  and it's fun to watch as he consistently overperforms your expectations.  it's fortunate for us that he does.  at some point, you'll either have to abandon your ideological pessimism about our first black president, or realize how wrong you were...

I'm hoping she runs against Martinez for the Senate in 2010, I think she's great.

No, I wouldn't call him Karl Rove. For one thing he's not Obama's brain. Obama actually has a brain, unlike Bush. Political adviser, yes. More like Jim Farley. He was indispensable, but Roosevelt was always the boss. Bush was just a drunken bum, so Rove had his power.

but he also knows detroit politics, cleveland politics, philadelphia politics, houston politics, massachusetts politics, california politics, new york politics, iowa politics, and d.c. politics!  and those would just be his winning campaigns that he wants you to know.  of course, his work with the edwards campaign in 2004 also gave him a national perspective.

comparing axelrod with rove may be convenient for you because you know nothing about him, but axelrod is a much more complex figure.  he got into politics to work with paul simon and harold washington, revered figures in the progressive community in illinois.  he started his business with forrest claypool, another well-liked progressive in chicago.  his work with daley has given him the unique perspective of having worked in both the reform and anti-reform camps.  one should never forget that the chicago machine backed a different candidate in the u.s. senate race (even though axelrod filled the same position for obama that he has now).

i strongly suspect that david axelrod is the first political appointment in the white house with and interest and expertise in urban policy since the lbj administration.  it would be profoundly foolish to think that axelrod's purpose in an obama administration is simply his re-election.  it only smells when you have no idea who you're talking about...