The Hiller Instinct: Mayor Menino Preparing for the DNC

Mayor Tom Menino, (D) Boston
"I understand that. I understand how much is at stake."

Andy Hiller
"For you."

Mayor Tom Menino, (D) Boston
"Yeah, for me."

Getting the party was one challenge... getting the city ready to party, another. Headlines scream of headaches ahead -- traffic jams and gridlock; budget and fundraising deficits; cronyism and racism…

Mayor Tom Menino, (D) Boston
"It's going to have some disruptions, no question about it, but not as bad as the media's playing it. It's like sensationalism, it's like yellow journalism… We bring 35,000 people into Fenway Park, 80 times a year... We've had the tall ships in Boston that attracted over a million people. The Ryder Cup attracted over a million people… We're going to be bringing in less than 19,000 people to the Fleet Center, but chaos reigns. This is an unbelievable story out there that isn't true."

But that doesn't mean he's not worried…

Andy Hiller
"What's your convention nightmare?"

Mayor Tom Menino, (D) Boston
"Just the logistics of the convention don't work. That's my nightmare. It just becomes a real hogwash of confusion."

The mayor's nightmare now -- two Boston Police unions protesting in public to get a new contract.

Andy Hiller
"Would giving them what they want break the bank?"

Mayor Tom Menino, (D) Boston
"They want 25 percent. That will break the bank, no question about it."

The unions threaten to picket at the convention if they don't have a deal.

Mayor Tom Menino, (D) Boston
"I wouldn't like it. No, I wouldn't like it at all."

But what the mayor would like least is for Boston 2004 to evoke memories of Chicago 1968, when protests triggered by the war in Vietnam led to street riots, and when Chicago Mayor Richard Daley embarrassed his city and his party.

Andy Hiller
"Has it ever struck you that you could be like Mayor Daley in being the symbol of a convention that failed?"

Mayor Tom Menino, (D) Boston
"I could. That concerns me."

Mayor Tom Menino, (D) Boston
"Oh, what a bad city that was. No one even knew we were there. No one even cared that we were there."

So the mayor's message will be he cares," and his hope, a convention as smooth as a summer sailboat ride.

Andy Hiller
"When will you know."

Mayor Tom Menino, (D) Boston
"Thursday night, at about midnight when it's all over."

Andy Hiller
"And what are you going to do then?"

Mayor Tom Menino, (D) Boston
"I'm going to sleep and sleep for about three days. (laughs)"

And the mayor should sleep well on July 29th, because he isn't doing now what too many other politicians would. He isn't ignoring or inventing the convention's potential problems, and he isn't promising to solve them painlessly.