How David Axelrod May Be Like Karl Rove

"If David Axelrod decides to join the Obama White House, he'll ... have to take an enormous pay cut and possibly reveal the extent of his lucrative corporate public relations work," reports Politico. Axelrod co-founded two high-powered Chicago firms: AKP&D Message & Media, which does political consulting, and ASK Public Strategies, a corporate PR firm. ASK has "established front groups for corporate giants including Madison Square Garden and ComEd to help sway public opinion on controversial initiatives." Axelrod has "already taken a leave from ASK," to work on the Obama campaign. If he were to "sign on as a special assistant to President Obama, as Axelrod confidants expect," there may be pressure for him to sell his interest in both firms before joining the White House. Karl Rove sold his political consulting firm in 1999, "just before going to work for Bush's nascent 2000 presidential campaign." If Axelrod doesn't follow suit, "The same kinds of questions that were asked about Rove need to be asked about Mr. Axelrod," said Republican National Committee chair Mike Duncan.