The MSE Symposium hosted David Axelrod, senior advisor to President Barack Obama, this past Tuesday. Axelrod discussed his views on political divisions, healthcare and other hot topic issues, while incorporating his history with the Obama administration and his view on the current political climate.
"The future is not a gift, but an achievement," Axelrod said, addressing Shriver Hall that evening.
He acknowledged that debt clogs the future and that the government needs to establish priorities to resolve fiscal issues.
He believes that educating our nation's youth, training the work force and putting Americans back to work in rebuilding the nation's basic infrastructure are more valuable than extending tax cuts to the wealthiest citizens.
He insisted that the government must continue to allocate funds for research and obtaining resources to keep up with other nations, such as China, India and Brazil, which are not stagnated.
Axelrod asserted that the possibilities for the future lie in action. He believes that the Republican Party is experiencing a "reign of terror" from the division in the party into the Tea Party and the "Martini Party", comprised of right-wing economists and the center right corporate Republicans, which has diminished the efficacy of the party.
"I am not saying that the Republicans in Congress are trying to tank the nation's economy in order to defeat the president," Axelrod said. "I think that there are some Republicans out there who want to do the right thing, and they're terrified."
In his presentation, Axelrod proposed that the true power to propel the country towards progress lies in the rising generation of college students.
"I strongly believe that meaningful change almost always begins with young people…[Young supporters of Obama] wanted to change the direction of their country. It was never about advancing the ambitions of one extraordinary candidate; it was about promoting our shared ambitions for our country," Axelrod said.
Axelrod saw the young generation as an agent of action. It impacted events such as the election of Obama, the restoration of scientific inquiry, the advancement of stem cell research, increased fuel efficiency standards, clean energy, the reformation of the student loan program, the promulgation of the "Don't Act Don't Tell" policy, and health care reform.
Health care reform possesses particular importance to Axelrod and he cites it as the greatest accomplishment of Obama's administration thus far.
"We knew that it was politically [and] dangerously new and that it would have a long-term payoff in a country that wants short-term. But we understood that in the long-term, it was going to be important for our country to get it done; I'm really proud," Axelrod said.
Health care is exceptionally significant to Axelrod because of the traumatic illness of his daughter, for which his health insurance was ineffective. He is profoundly thankful for the health care reform because he does not wish for any family to struggle as his did.
"I knew that families in the future wouldn't have to go through that terrifying feeling that my family did" Axelrod said. "They won't have to flirt with bankruptcy in order to take care of their children's grave needs."
Additionally, Axelrod tailored his presentation to engage the student body and struck a captivating balance of humor and insider bits of wisdom. He checkered his presentation with personal anecdotes from his experiences advising political campaigns and government officials.
With stories accentuating the success of the Obama administration in combating terrorism, he included a story of his visit to the White House to help President Obama write jokes for a comedic speech for that night's White House Correspondents' dinner, one day prior to the mission targeting Bin Laden.
"A joke was, ‘Poor Tim Polenti had such a promising career, but for that unfortunate middle name, Bin Laden.' The president said, ‘Bin Laden? That's so yesterday. Why don't we take that out?'" Axelrod said.
Obama proposed switching the name ‘Bin Laden' to ‘Hosni'.
"I'm thinking to myself, ‘Hosni isn't very funny. [Obama] got 365 electoral votes, I didn't get any, so Hosni it was," Axelrod jested.
However, when Axelrod received the news of Bin Laden's death the following day, Axelrod realized why Obama was insistent upon removing the joke. This epitomized the rare uniqueness of Axelrod's experience: he had an insider's look into the realities of politics.
Axelrod has served as senior advisor to President Barack H. Obama, senior advisor to the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition and senior strategist to Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency. Having garnered a reputation as a renowned media and political mastermind, many consider him genius and innovator in the political arena. Members of the student audience recognized Axelrod's valuable insight in this single encounter.
"For me, he is beyond any other person in his profession. He is truly a special person to hear from because he knows what he is talking about. The visions that he sees turn into realities. He is a great voice for the president to have," freshman Yarden Carmon said.
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