Campaigns & Elections - August 2007 - (Page 46)

cover story In 1961, George was president of American Motor Corporation when he led an effort to amend the state Constitution. He presided over the constitutional convention, then successfully ran for governor. He won re-election twice and ran for president in 1968. The moment that ended his father’s campaign was a television interview, when he explained his evolution to an anti-war position in Vietnam. “When I came back from Vietnam, I’d just had the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get,” George said. Mitt says the first time he saw the actual video was just last year. “I don’t think about that comment a lot,” Romney said. “By the way, he was right. And a few years after his comment, [then Secretary of Defense] Bob McNamara said they were trying to brainwash people.” George dropped out of the race and later became the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Richard Nixon. As his father rose to prominence in American business and then government, Mitt learned lessons that are shaping his presidential campaign. Lesson 1: Be Cautious Romney is very careful around the press. He learned this lesson during his father’s gubernatorial campaign stop in Mount Pleasant, Mich. “It is so great to be in Mount Clemons,” Romney recalled his father saying. “Then my mom said, ‘No, it’s Pleasant.’ And my dad didn’t understand and said ‘Yes, it is pleasant to be in Mount Clemons.’ Obviously the crowd was silent, but we kidded him for years. “In this age, though, I understand you have to be even more careful because everything you say can be put on YouTube or be reported in or out of context,” Romney said. Lesson 2: Focus on the Goal At an early age, Romney wasn’t interested in a life of politics. He wanted to be an auto executive like his father. “I was obsessed with cars,” Romney said. He wanted to get an M.B.A. and become an auto executive. But George, a college dropout who later oversaw employees with M.B.A.’s, didn’t respect business schools. So they compromised: Mitt got both a law degree and M.B.A. The broad experience served him well. In the mid 1990s, he launched a wildly successful venture capital branch of Bain Consulting. And when Romney became head of the Salt Lake Olympic committee—which was deeply in debt—he started charging employees $1 for a slice of pizza. “He is the guy checking to make sure lights are shut off and that we aren’t spending money where we don’t need to,” said Craig Romney, Mitt’s youngest son. Lesson 3: Assemble the Best Team Another lesson Romney says he learned from his father, as well as the private sector, is to assemble the best team. But getting and retaining talent isn’t just a matter of salary. “The fact is that people want to work with Mitt. He can lead meetings in an inspiring way that makes everyone see how they are part of the overall team,” White said. For his presidential race, Romney assembled a team of cutting-edge strategists from both the political and business worlds. When he announced his campaign, for example, he rented out Boston’s new major convention center. Romney became the first campaign to use the private sector program SalesForce.com to track donations from the event, and he raised an intimidatingly large chunk of money. Lesson 4: Use Data When George Romney was running American Motor Company, he was approached with the idea of making a small car at a time when Americans were buying big ones. George Romney looked at data suggesting consumers would buy into the idea. His decision to make the Rambler turned the company around. Romney applied that lesson when he was trying to become the country’s first governor to provide universal health care coverage. Like many, he believed most of those without health insurance were single, minority mothers. But the data showed that healthy, 20-something males were the main group without coverage, largely because they didn’t think it was worth their money. Romney crafted legislation requiring those young men to get coverage. Their cheaper, low-risk policies compensated insurance companies for Romney’s mandate that they cover single, minority mothers. The win-win compromise was forged from Romney’s simple data-crunching exercise. The Future Will these lessons be passed down to a future generation? Romney said that should one of his sons asks him whether they should run for office, he would tell them to “follow their heart.” “I am delighted that each of my sons are following their hearts in different directions,” Romney said. “If they wanted to get into politics that would be fine, but it is a rough road. I would just ask that they get into politics to do something, not to be somebody.” >> 46 CAMPAIGNS & ELECTIONS 08.07 SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES http://SalesForce.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Campaigns & Elections - August 2007

Cover Contents Editor’s Note Ames Straw Poll Cavalcade; Last Candidate Standing; The New Dollar-A-Year Guy; Web Videos That Can Change the Election Across State Lines: Campaign News from Around the Country People and Organizations Movers and Shakers: Ten Questions for Matthew Taylor and Philip de Vellis Campaign Consultant Sign-Ups Reel Time Cover Story: Building Blocks From Madison Avenue to K Street Money Can’t Buy Votes Dick Cheney: Roll Model for Millions Ames: Still Weird, Still Important How to Do Tougher, Quicker Crisis Management Online Cause-Based SocNets Lure Issue Voters The Great Exaggeration Why Primetime TV is Alive and Well, Politically Speaking Buyer’s Guide Tips for Toeing the Fine Line Between Employment, Friendship Managing Your Friend’s Campaign? Think ‘Consigliore’ Off The Record

Campaigns & Elections - August 2007

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