Axelrod to Leave Early

David Axelrod needs to “recharge his battery” after November’s shellacking: The president’s chief political adviser, who has long been expected to transition out of the West Wing in advance of the 2012 elections, will hit the road as soon as late January—sooner than expected. Meanwhile, David Plouffe, the master organizer of the president’s 2008 campaign, will join the White House in early January.