MAYOR TOM MENINO, James Rooney, then the executive director of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, and I rode the escalator of the newly opened facility on an early visit to the convention in 2004. Rooney provided an upbeat report to Menino on its progress, and the mayor basked in the early signs of success.
Not bad, he seemed to be saying as his powerful hands gestured to the impressive scene in front on him.
At that moment, the mayor turned to me with a question. “What was it, they said this would be?” he asked, motioning to the crowds amid the freshly constructed surroundings. “What do you mean, mayor?” I answered, not knowing where the question was going. He said, “You know, the white, the white elephant…”…