Who Are David Axelrod and Scott Jennings?

 My VIPs for this week are David Axelrod (a Democratic strategist) and Scott Jennings (a Republican consultant). They are friends who had “a frank discussion” at Arizona State University’s Dialogues for Democracy event on March 17.

According to Gitanjali Poonia at the Deseret News, Axelrod and Jennings discussed “some of the biggest hot-button issues,” such as “the Iran war and the SAVE Act.” 

That’s just another Tuesday for this pair of political pundits from opposite ends of the political spectrum.

But in a day and age when politics feels personal, Jennings and Axelrod have managed to forge a friendship despite their political differences.

Axelrod asked Jennings, “How is it that we have gotten to the point where being friends with someone who has a different point of view than you is considered somehow inappropriate – or worse?”

Jennings, in response, talked about what drew him to Axelrod at CNN.

“Most people don’t listen to anything other than themselves, but Ax tends to open his heart and his ears before he opens his mouth,” said Jennings.

“Even though we’ve had some sharp disagreements, I never doubt his sincerity or the way he approaches the job. He’s not there to hurt anybody; he’s there to help the conversation.”

Axelrod deflected the stream of compliments and, in response, acknowledged Jennings as “one of the smartest guys I’ve ever sat down with on a television set.”

Axelrod and Jennings couldn’t be more different politically. The former worked as an adviser to former President Barack Obama, and the latter assisted former President George W. Bush.

But the spoke to each other with great ease.

“We need to be able to have these discussions,” Axelrod said toward the end. “We’re so separated by our media and our politics that we often don’t get to know each other, and it’s easy to assume the worst about each other.”

“My hope is that we can find a way back to a place where we seek out our common humanity instead of wallowing in our differences. Because I think that is the fundamental challenge for our democracy.”

I personally enjoy sharing ideas with people who do not think the same way as I do IF they are willing to discuss ideas and policies. I absolutely do not enjoy being told that I am an idiot because I think differently, but I gain understanding from respectful dialogues. I am conservative, but I have family members who help me to understand life and events from different perspectives. They also help me to not think of liberals as enemies, but as people who think differently than I do.