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Mattel toys may have some QC issues at the moment, but the CEO was out there this morning saying all the right things, the right way at the right time on national TV.  What's the right time for a company to mobilize for damage control?  Immediately.  When the bad news breaks.  His opening line, "I apologize", was straight out of JetBlue's PR manual, demonstrated last February after the debacle that left passengers stranded on the tarmac at JFK in a snowstorm.  Back to toyland: Look, stuff's gonna happen in business.  Consumers don't expect perfection in an imperfect world.  What they do expect, and insist upon, is honesty.  When they don't see it, look out.  When stuff hits the fan, as it always does and always will, step one is NOT to circle the wagons and go into cloister with your attorneys.  Step one is to put the boss in front of as many cameras as you can, and let him say "I'm sorry this happened and here's what we're doing about it."  Kudos to Mattel.  It was swell.  Not a happy episode, of course, but there's a right way and wrong way to manage crisis.  They did it right.  Of course, Mattel is the exception and not the rule.  Which makes them exceptional.