David Axelrod and David French in Conversation
Obama strategist David Axelrod and conservative NYT columnist David French discuss why their political differences matter less than their shared commitment to democratic norms.
Why we picked this
A liberal strategist and a conservative constitutional lawyer agreeing that the labels no longer matter — this is the kind of cross-partisan conversation that's harder to find and more valuable than ever.
David Axelrod served as chief strategist to President Obama and has remained one of the most prominent Democratic analysts in American politics. David French is a New York Times columnist, constitutional lawyer, and Army veteran who has spent years as one of the more prominent conservative critics of the Republican Party’s direction. They don’t share many starting assumptions.
What they do share is a conviction that the fight for democratic norms and a liberal order matters more than partisan labels — and that the most important questions of the current moment cut across traditional political lines. This conversation will explore those shared commitments alongside the sharpest disagreements still standing between them.
Part of the Chicago Humanities Festival’s Lakeview Day. R. Scott Falk Memorial Program. Tickets go on general sale March 19.