David Axelrod: Obama's Mastermind —and No. 1 Fan

David Axelrod isn’t just a political hired gun. Instead, Barack Obama’s chief strategist backs his candidates with the same passion he reserves for his beloved Cubs and Bulls, the Washington Post reports in a lengthy profile. “He loves his candidates when he starts. He’s usually let down when he finishes,” said one friend. “Obama is the one different guy.”

Axelrod, whose success on behalf of his political clients is legendary, likes Obama so much that he ran his Senate campaign even though Obama was penniless. “My involvement was a leap of faith,” he once said. “If I could help Barack Obama get to Washington, then I would have accomplished something great in my life.” He sees in Obama a resurrection of the idealism of Robert Kennedy, the first politician to win his adoration.