In a room flanked by flags from all 50 states, Mitt and Ann Romney brought the crowd to its feet and then, on their first day of fundraising, pulled in almost as much as then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush did during the first three weeks of his presidential campaign exploration in 1999.
Romney was out to show that he can raise money like a frontrunner, and he did. But the former Massachusetts governor also wanted to show he has support from across the nation and is organized to mount a convincing campaign should he choose to run for the White House.
"I'm overwhelmed by the support," Romney, a 59-year-old venture capitalist-turned-politician told reporters. "I'm heartened by the friendships and I'm optimistic about the future."
Romney's camp initially told reporters they hoped to collect $1 million at the event, a figure they reached by 11 a.m. MST.
Craig Holman is the campaign finance lobbyist for the government watchdog group Public Citizen and a critic of the bundling model pioneered by Bush and, it appears, perfected by Romney. Holman called Romney's one-day collection "tremendous" and "disheartening," noting it does not bode well for the future of public financing.
Still, Holman had to admire Romney's achievement.
"That puts him overnight on the steps of credible candidates," Holman said. "If he can raise that kind of money in one day, he's in the game."
That was the goal.
Some 400 Romney supporters - from the chief executive of eBay to Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt to enthusiastic bloggers - called friends and associates begging for donations in what Romney's staffers said was a novel approach in politics. The money raised was in donations by check or credit card or a signed pledge.
Supporters huddled around 40 horseshoe-shaped tables with IBM laptops and black phones at the Boston Convention Center dialing people from their Roladexes. A four-sided JumboTron carried images of Romney as he glad-handed the room and joined in to make the pitch on calls.
"Money talks but early money screams," Romney's national finance director, Spencer Zwick, said.
If Romney fully commits to the race, he needs momentum as he faces better-known opponents for the GOP nomination, mainly Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Political observers predict potential 2008 candidates need to raise $25 million to $30 million in the first three months, and up to $100 million this year alone.
It's unclear whether Romney's committee can sustain that kind of pace. Rich Hanley, director of graduate programs in the school of communication at Quinnipiac University, likened Monday's yield to that of a movie on opening weekend. "But it's ultimately not the opening weekend that matters. It's what happens after that."
Romney countered that he doesn't plan on making Monday's effort the standard, but that, "The opening box office is kind of important for a movie and the opening box office for a campaign is kind of important as well."
Earlier that morning, Romney emerged to the Goo Goo Dolls' "Give a Little Bit," and rallied his troops to call everyone they knew to help boost his vision for a "new American dream."
Some 15 Utahns, including Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, entrepreneur James Sorenson Jr. and the state's lobbyist, Bill Simmons, were among the callers, and many of the supporters had worked with Romney during the Olympics. Richard and Linda Eyre, who write inspirational books, were there, as were executives from Utah companies Xango and Nuskin.
"It's not a hard sale in Utah because people know Mitt Romney," Herbert said during a break from his calls to friends back home. But his boss, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., is supporting McCain.
Monday's dialing-for-dollars campaign wasn't just a Boston event.
Supporters around the country spent the day phoning potential donors from their homes and offices, Romney's longtime friend and Utah developer Kem Gardner said between fundraising calls. Gardner, who stayed in Salt Lake City to close a business deal, knows of at least 50 people in Utah who were working the phones. By 1:30 p.m., Gardner had raised $52,000, he said.
"It's coming in great from all over the country," Gardner said.
And that's key.
Romney, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, must prove his support base extends beyond Utah and the Mormon community. Polls indicate he needs to raise his profile.
In a Jan. 1-3 CBS nationwide survey of 1,000 adults, 85 percent of respondents were either undecided or didn't know enough about Romney to even have an opinion. Of those who did have an opinion, twice as many respondents viewed him unfavorably (10 percent) as favorably (5 percent).
Romney's first call Monday, placed on speakerphone for everyone to hear, met with success. He phoned his older sister, Lynn Romney Keenan, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and could hardly get a word in as Keenan praised her brother for his success.
"This is an exciting day, isn't it?" she asked.
Romney didn't even finish his request for $2,100, the federal limit, before Keenan interrupted: "Of course."
Romney has a history of creative fundraising. To plug holes in the 2002 Olympics budget, he assembled a team of 20 "Utah ambassadors" to hit up philanthropists for donations.
He also came up with the controversial idea to sell prime Olympic tickets and hotel rooms for several times their face value, in one case through an online auction in which the first set of 20 tickets sold for nine times their original price.
After the telethon, just about everyone there planned to meet at a hotel to watch the Florida Gators, coached by former University of Utah football coach Urban Meyer, face off against Ohio State for the BCS national championship.
tburr@sltrib.com
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* Tribune reporters LINDA
FANTIN and PEGGY FLETCHER STACK contributed to this report.
