Obama campaign senior adviser David Axelrod spent his final night with his mustache at New York’s Four Seasons Restaurant raising awareness — and money — for epilepsy research. Axelrod and his wife Susan hosted many Manhattan luminaries at the CURE New York reception at which Mayor Mike Bloomberg was presented an award for his support. In his brief remarks, Bloomberg caught sight of NBC’s Tom Brokaw in the crowd: “There’s Tom Brokaw. He’s my neighbor …. and my golf partner. Maybe he’ll even give me a few strokes next round.”
TVNewser spotted Fox News chairman Roger Ailes giving a warm hello to Susan Axelrod and Arianna Huffington as David Axelrod gave his remarks. The Axelrods established CURE: Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy as the family struggled to come to terms with their daughter Lauren’s epilepsy. Now 31, Lauren experienced her first seizure at seven months old.
We chatted with “CBS This Morning” anchor Charlie Rose, who, with his co-hosts Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell, is treating the “This Morning” staff to a holiday party next week. “It takes two jobs to be able to do it, but we’ll do it,” joked Rose, who also hosts “Charlie Rose” on PBS and Bloomberg TV.
Also at the event, organized for the most part by Tammy Haddad: “Good Morning America” and “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos and his wife Ali Wentworth, ABC political analyst
Matthew Dowd, “Today” contributor Donny Deutsch, head of Bloomberg TV Andrew Morse, CBS News VP Chris Licht, Fox News EVP Michael Clemente, Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Scholossberg.
“Today” third hour co-host Willie Geist told us he’s enjoying his new gig, as changes at the show churn around him. One time “Today” show EP Steve Friedman, now EP of MSNBC’s “The Cycle” said Jeff Zucker was a “great” choice to take over CNN. Friedman, Zucker’s predecessor at “Today,” says, CNN “certainly needs it. “The Cycle,” MSNBC’s 3pmET show, is riding the wave of overall growth at the network, regularly topping CNN’s 3pm hour.
And amid the talk of heading toward the fiscal cliff, Bloomberg TV’s Trish Regan told us her near-term plans are taking her somewhere else: Disney World to celebrate her twins’ third birthday tomorrow.
David Axelrod, Fox News EVP Michael Clemente and George Stephanopoulos Willie Geist, Susan Axelrod, Lally Weymouth, David Axelrod, Arianna Huffington and Rick Stengel Mayor Bloomberg with CURE award, David and Susan Axelrod and Diana Taylor