Conquering race

TNR profiles Axelrod's rise as Obama's message man.

"David just does a Vulcan mind meld with his candidates."

...

"There are very few people who happen to be white who are sensitive and willing to give their all and commit themselves to candidates of color," says Dennis Archer, the former mayor of Detroit and one of the many black mayoral candidates who relied on Axelrod's services. "Some come in with a pejorative sense and treat the candidate in a pejorative way, and you don't have the full, committed respect that David has displayed."

Worth reading in full.