We hadn’t previously known that David Axelrod founded the epilepsy nonprofit CURE ten years ago, after his daughter, Lauren, was diagnosed with the disease. Last night, the organization honored the Axelrods at the Yale Club, in front of a crowd that included Katie Couric and Bob Woodruff. The event was moderated (somewhat ironically) by George Stephanopoulos. We caught up with Obama’s right-hand man to ask about how he manages to stay awake (or, even, alive) with all of the madness he’s been going through over the past year. “You know, I figure I can sleep in November,” he said. “When you are motivated, you will be surprised by how much you can do. Obviously, the work of this foundation is deeply personal to my life, and I will always work to see that it continues, and I also feel very strongly about Senator Obama.” The question on everybody’s mind, of course, was when Hillary Clinton will drop out. Axelrod said that the New York senator is “very committed to change,” and he’s not worried that she won’t work with them to fight for a Democratic win in the general election. We didn’t know they were officially sharing the “change” mantra now. How generous! Would they also share a ticket? “There’s no ticket talk yet; it’s a little premature for that, I think,” Axelrod said. “But I definitely anticipate that we will work closely together.” We knew that answer was coming. —Tre Borden
