I’ve enjoyed David Axelrod’s podcasts of late. His most recent interview with Mark Leibovich of the New York Times is pretty insightful.
Axe seems to be pretty good at getting his subjects to relax and open up, and he asks good questions.
One of the more interesting exchanges was about Hillary Clinton’s limitations as a politician, and Leibovich mentioned a conversation with her where she impressed him and connected well, so long as it was off the record. When he asked to go on the record, she accepted but then fed him the usual buzzwords and phrases that indicated that the substantive and revealing part of their conversation was over. Part of her innate caution, perhaps, that voters sense and mistrust.
It may have to do with the timing in his presidency, but President Obama seems a lot more confident in revealing himself and the substance of his thought on the record. All the more reason I will miss him when he’s gone.
There’s also a funny story about Obama and a turkey leg in this podcast. Listen well.
