Intrigue

Forget Rahm, Axelrod in Hot Seat

Sis says criticism breaks her heart.

Last week, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was the focus of Washington soothsayers, as critics questioned whether he has failed to deliver on the president’s agenda. Now, however, a profile in The New York Times suggests that this week’s finger-pointing may be aimed at Obama’s political adviser David Axelrod, as people wonder whether he has blundered in honing his boss’s message. “The Obama White House has lost the narrative in the way that the Obama campaign never did,” says one political scientist. For his part, Axelrod says there have been “communication failures.” The criticism has apparently reached the Axelrod clan. “Every time I hear that the White House is getting the message wrong, it breaks my heart,” Axelrod's sister tells The Times.