I need a drink.
I need a shave.
Posted on 08/19/2005 6:57:43 AM PDT by Panerai
Gov. Mitt Romney's advance staff – young aides who spiff him up for public appearances – is twice the size of the advance staffs under Govs. William F. Weld and A. Paul Cellucci, aides to those former GOP governors said.
The eager young Romney aides, clad in dark suits and outfitted with U.S. Secret Service-type earpieces, refer to Romney at events as ``70'' because he is the 70th Massachusetts governor.
The four-person staff makes up an increasingly prominent coterie of handlers around the image-conscious governor, in sharp contrast to the unaffected style of Weld and Cellucci, former staffers said.
``Despite Bill Weld's background, he was very comfortable with himself and not into the pretense of the office, and his staff was a reflection of that,'' said Martin Polera, Weld's only full-time advance man during his first term.
``If I ever said into an earpiece going to nowhere, `67, five minutes out,' I would have been slapped,'' said Polera, now with a Miami-based public relations firm. (Weld was the 67th Bay State governor.)
Romney's image with voters has never been more crucial as he continues to explore a presidential run. One aide, 25-year-old deputy chief of staff Spencer Zwick, is leaving soon to work on Romney's political efforts full time, State House sources said yesterday.
When asked about Zwick yesterday, Romney's spokeswoman, Julie Teer, said:``At this time . . . we have no announcement to make.''
The Herald reported last month that Romney's four-person advance team is part of a $350,000 image squad now called the ``Office of Operations.'' The office includes five other paid staffers and four unpaid summer interns.
In the past 19 months, another $106,000 has been spent on their hotel and travel costs, computer software, lighting and chair rentals, cell phones and other equipment, state records show.
What kind of name is "Mitt?"
So Weld and Cellucci had 2 of these people, and Romney has four. So what.
Anytime you're compared to Weld and Cellucci and fall short, it's very, very bad news.
Good one, I'll need to remember that.
I need a drink.
I need a shave.
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