Meet the Real Mitt Romney

[Geee]

American Spectator:

Here's a story that may help New York Times columnist Gail Collins get over her obsession with the incident of Mitt Romney and the dog on the car.

In 1996, two years after Romney had returned to Bain Capital after running unsuccessfully against Ted Kennedy for Senate, Robert Gay, a partner at Bain, came to him and confided that his 14-year-old daughter Melissa was missing. She had sneaked out of their Connecticut home three days before, gone to a rock concert in New York City and hadn't been heard from since.

Gay was embarrassed about confessing his dilemma and didn't expect anything more than a little commiseration. Instead, he was amazed at Romney's reaction. The co-founder of Bain immediately informed the other partners of the situation, then closed down the firm and mobilized a temporary move to New York City to search for the girl. As the New York Times reported it at the time:

Bain Capitals Partners closed down the firm and drew on friendships and connections to find volunteers for the search. R.R. Donnelly, the firm's printer, printed more than 300,000 fliers bearing Ms. Gay's picture and last known whereabouts. Duane Reade, a drugstore chain in which Bain Capital is an investor, had clerks at 52 stores insert fliers in shopping bags. Price Waterhouse, which does the firm's accounting, sent nearly 100 volunteers to distribute the powers, and Goldman Sachs, Bankers Trust and Morgan Stanley dispatched more than 60 people.

Command centers to dispatch volunteers and get in touch with the press were set up at the Marriott Hotel and La Guardia Airport, the Connelly offices and the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan. Volunteers with cellular phones fanned out tot clubs like the Limelight and the Tunnel, the Lollapalooza concert at Downing Stadium on Randall's Island, parties in Tompkins Square and Central Park, to Madison Square Garden and the Port Authority.

[Ghost]

if we can get the "purists" to not write in Sarah or just ignore the presidential selection, I think Mitt will be an excellent president. He loves our country & has good business sense. His SC judges will not be like the last two sorry woman appointees. Time will tell on the social issues

[nickydog]

Wow. This is some story.

[Rheo]

I had not heard this before. Way to go, Mitt.

[pollyannaish]

Romney had an unrealistic response to a bad situation. Flying 30 workers to NYC to search for a girl, shows his concern, but was a ridiculous waste of resources that turned out not to be needed. Not the response I would want from a President.

None are so blind as those who refuse to see. The Occupy Wall Street folks insist on demonizing wealthy business people for not caring...and yet when they show that is, in fact, not the case their response is exactly what they say they hate.

 

Good story. The writer of that comment is correct. Terrible waste of resources if you are trying to MAKE money. Excellent use of resources if human life matters more than anything else.

[Rheo]

How did that comment writer come to the conclusion that the resources turned out not to be needed? Had she not been found when she was, she would be dead.

[pollyannaish]

How did that comment writer come to the conclusion that the resources turned out not to be needed? Had she not been found when she was, she would be dead.

 

Exactly.