"Barack Obama believes in the power of heroic narrative. As a teenager he loved the comic-book exploits of Conan the Barbarian and Spider-Man; as an adult he wrote a best-selling autobiography that reads like a coming-of-age novel. For nearly two decades his political adviser has been David Axelrod, whom I first met in 1983 when he was a young reporter for the Chicago Tribune. "Axe" got the scoops, but he could also package them into smooth page-one pieces. As a media consultant, he has a gift for storytelling. Axelrod records his day by scribbling in a large black manuscript book—the kind a novelist might use.
It was The Narrative—Obama's life and the telling of it—that produced the Obama presidency. Many if not most of its key moments were speeches: Chicago in 2002, Boston in 2004, Philadelphia and Denver in 2008. The crafting of this story was always a joint Obama-Axelrod enterprise. Last week they unveiled a new chapter in the saga. Our hero has been attacked by all the evil creatures in Washington and vows to tame them, either by his charm or with his bare hands. He promises to create jobs, cut the deficit, cut more taxes (but raise them on the rich), and finally redeem his promise to end the corrupt, insipid, and selfish ways of the capital.
In the House chamber and on TV, it worked. Obama was forceful and shrewd, amiable and reasonable. He commanded the room (except for the stone-faced members of the Supreme Court) with ease. Judging from the instant polls that night, the public loved it. As a piece of political stagecraft, it impressed me. But in the cold light of day, I do have a "but"—in fact, more than one."
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