Obama promised hope and change, but what about managing expectations for hope and change? Today on The Gist, former Obama strategist David Axelrod shares insights from his new book Believer: My Forty Years in Politics. Plus, we examine a strange transitional moment for popular music and the American Songbook with Ben Yagoda. He's the author of The B Side: The Death of Tin Pan Alley and the Rebirth of the Great American Song. For the Spiel, a man who never e-mails, and the Yemenis who got caught in the crosshairs. Today's sponsor: Stamps.com. Sign up for a no-risk trial and get a $110 bonus offer, when you visit Stamps.com and enter promo code TheGist.

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