Monday, June 25, 2007

"My message is important and critical to
get out into this country.”

Former Gov. Mitt Romney's (R-Mass.) campaign said it raised $6.5 million for his presidential exploratory committee, Monday, thanks to an all-day call-a-thon featuring the candidate and a group of his biggest supporters.

Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said the $6.5 million total is a combination of "actual contributions and signed pledges."

A press release from the Romney campaign said 400 volunteers placed 15,000 calls to potential Romney contributors.

"I am overwhelmed by this support, heartened by the friendship, and hopeful for the future. I can only say thank you," Romney said, according to the press release.

The "National Call Day" is an attempt to showcase Romney as an "innovative and entrepreneurial leader," according to spokesman Madden. As evidence, Madden pointed to the use of a new system called ComMitt -- a sales software developed specifically for Romney's campaign. Romney hopes the software will help organize and coordinate the raising of the $100 million he wants to collect in 2007. Madden explained that ComMitt is an attempt to professionalize past fundraising programs, which were "done with a spreadsheet or worse paper and pencil."

Mitt Romney said yesterday he had once more turned to his personal fortune to help finance his presidential campaign and might do so again, suggesting that his fund-raising has fallen off since the first three months of the year.

Mr. Romney, who spoke to reporters at a news conference in Boston, declined to say how much of his own money he had put into his campaign this time, although the amount will become clear soon, when second quarter fund-raising results are released.

In January, Mr. Romney said financing his own campaign would be “akin to a nightmare.” But his campaign said yesterday that he had put in more money to maintain the gains he had made, especially in the early voting states Iowa and New Hampshire.

At the news conference, The Boston Globe reported, Mr. Romney, asked why he was putting more money in, said: “Because I have to, all right? My message is important and critical to get out into this country.”

Mitt Romney told an audience of hundreds of his top fundraisers Sunday night that the United States was headed in the wrong direction, using some of his most unambiguous language to date to distance himself from President Bush.

"We're going to change the course of America," Romney told about 800 donors gathered for a pep rally at the Boston Red Sox's Fenway Park.

[...]

Romney's assessment came at a private fire-up-the-troops session held in the fabled ballpark here as the Red Sox were on a West Coast swing. His campaign has brought in some of Romney's most dedicated contributors from as far away as California and Texas to gather for an all-day phone-a-thon Monday in advance of the June 30 quarterly campaign finance deadline.

Addressing his Fenway Frank-chomping supporters as part of a thank you in anticipation of their fundraising on Monday, Romney offered remarks that were as casual as his attire (khaki trousers and a blue button-down shirt sans jacket or tie -- as casual as the former business executive ever seems to get).

Part pleading pol, part stand-up comic, part emcee, Romney displayed a sardonic side as he bantered with his family, light-heartedly offered instructions to the crowd and encouraged his backers to bring in bucks.

"Hey, that's my seat, kid," Romney joked while filibustering before a final busload of late-arriving Californians assembled for the festivities. "Oh, it's my grandson."