Is Fiorina finished? Two big mistakes get Carly in trouble
By Jimmy Orr | 09.16.08
When you are a spokesperson on a campaign you really have one job — follow the script. You have your talking points. Use them. If you freelance, you do so at your own peril.
Going for the win
It’s kind of like the head coach of the Denver Broncos, Mike Shanahan this past Sunday. With only seconds to go in the 4th quarter the Broncos scored a touchdown and were an extra point away from putting the game into overtime. The textbook says, you go for the sure thing - the extra point and then play it out in OT.
Shanahan has a little riverboat gambler to him. He, to the complete surprise of the veteran play-by-play announcers, went for the two-point conversion. If they wouldn’t have scored he would have been lambasted. But he rolled the dice. And with plenty of drama the Broncos got the two points. Denver wins. And Mike Shanahan is crowned a genius.
In politics, you can gamble too. You can stray from your talking points but you better know what you’re doing.
Bounds vs. Brown
As painful as it was to watch McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds on CNN being grilled by anchor Campbell Brown during the Republican convention (and it was very painful) - he did what he was paid to do. Follow the script. Regurgitate the talking points.
Bounds, you’ll remember, was being asked what specific national security experience Sarah Palin brought to the table. Bounds answered everything but the question. Brown wouldn’t relent. Bounds hung in there. It was tough going but he did not deviate. So tough that veteran White House aide David Gergen expressed admiration for Bounds after the interview.
Call it ugly. Call it contrived. Call it whatever you’d like. This is just how campaigns work.
A misfire
So today top McCain strategist Carly Fiorina freelanced it a bit, and it didn’t work out - it really didn’t work out.
Fiorina was asked by a St. Louis radio station announcer if she thought Sarah Palin had the experience to run a company like Hewlett-Packard. Fiorina replied, “No, I don’t. But you know what? That’s not what she’s running for.”
Another way to answer the question would have been, something like, perhaps: “Yes.”
Another misfire
That’s one stumble. But it went from bad to worse. In the next interview she clarified the first remark by stating John McCain couldn’t run a major company either. And then added that Obama and Biden were equally unqualified.
Despite the fact that she seemed to be saying that it is helpful to have a business background to run a corporation, on a day when the economy was the total focus, these comments don’t work.
Energizer bunny
How bad a gaffe was it? Well, any substantial gaffe throws the message off for the day. No matter what the campaign tries to get out, they can’t because everyone is focused on the mistake. As a result, it’s a lost day and depending on many variables it can be two or three days or even a week. It can turn into a possessed Energizer Bunny.
And for the campaigns stuck in the middle of it, they will try anything to get out of it. Think of two very recent examples - one the McCain campaign had to deal with and one the Obama campaign wrestled with:
1. The selection of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and if she was properly vetted. McCain campaign staff became so fatigued by this question they finally just said “no more.” They announced they would no longer answer this question. Of course it helped when Palin delivered her home-run speech at the convention.
2. Obama discussing McCain being an agent of change. Lampooning this Obama said, “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” The McCain camp immediately charged Obama called Sarah Palin a pig because of her oft-told joke about pitbulls, lipstick, and hockey Moms. This took days for the media to drop.
See ya
As for Fiorina, some say she’s toast. CNN is reporting she’s done for the time being.
“Carly will now disappear,” this source said. “Senator McCain was furious.” Asked to define “disappear,” this source said, adding that she would be off TV for a while – but remain at the Republican National Committee and keep her role as head of the party’s joint fundraising committee with the McCain campaign.
<< McCain staffers attempt to derail McCain’s campaign | MainFiorina was booked for several TV interviews over the next few days, including one on CNN. Those interviews have been canceled.
Comments
2. Jim | 09.16.08
Who would believe Carly Fiorina could run a corporation?
Fiorina was so use to telling lies for McCain that has worked very well at fooling voters. Today she wanted to lie to fool someone, maybe herself, that she could run a company like HP
3. martin | 09.16.08
Many times over the past few years it has been suggested that automakers should increase millage of the vehicles they were producing. The average car gets worse millage then the first modle T . The GOP reacted to this by claiming that to slowly phase in increased gas millage would hurt the us economy. It would cost jobs! What they were really saying was the oil lobby and the auto lobby did not want these regulations. They killed the bills that would have slowly increased the millage in a controlled condion.
they could not have been more wrong. The direct action of the GOP created an energy mess as well the meltdown in the AMERICAN auto industry.
4. tom | 09.16.08
what the heck is carly talking about? carly couldn’t run HP either…that’s why she got dumped. nothing like an unemployed former ceo telling us what kind of experience we need to run the company that he/she no longer runs.
5. Paul Stewart | 09.16.08
The price to pay for honesty on Palin. The truth tellers for McCain are to be lambasted. How will women supporters feel now that McCain has had a hissy fit with Carly for her telling the truth about McCain’s VP chick.
6. shotgun willie | 09.16.08
McCain could not run a corporation like HP because of mandatory retirement ages such as virtually all corporations have. Which makes you wonder: if the market has decided that McCain is too old to run a business, what does that say about his ability to run the country? Americans know best ad they have NEVER voted in someone 72 years old as president.
7. Terry | 09.16.08
I don’t know…considering how many large companies we keep bailing out on a daily basis, I’m thinking anyone of them can’t screw it up worse.
8. Paul Stewart | 09.16.08
The comment about Bound’s performance being impressive is stupid. Bounds should had a moral responsibility to answer the question. I mean, Palin and McCain are running for VP and P and will, if elected, affect the lives of all Americans. It was a legitimate question and should have been given a legitimate and morally based, honest answer. To avoid it and stick to the talking points is to stick to the propaganda. This is America, we don’t do propaganda. Remember?
9. Auborn House | 09.16.08
I worked for HP when Carly was there and she can not run a company. She
destroyed a 60 year old greatly admired corporate culture in a very short period of time.
10. Angela | 09.16.08
So if McCain fires Fiorina or pushes her aside just because she spoke her own mind and didn’t say exactly what she was told to say, wouldn’t that be considered sexist if you use the new definition of sexism the Republicans have been trying to sell for the past two weeks?
11. Daniel | 09.16.08
Based upon her Lucent’s poor performance and the ill-fated HP/Compaq deal, it doesn’t appear that she is capable of running a corporation either - unless it’s into the ground
12. David | 09.16.08
Fiorina’s vanity and CEO ego got in her way of serving her candidate. Of course there are corporate skills involved in government. But Republicans hate government, and have the goal of making it smaller by bankrupting it, so of course they should not be expected to recognize good management practices in others.
13. Tracey | 09.16.08
I have a real dilemma here: The Republican Party is the party of big business. It favors things like tax cuts and minimal regulation for large corporations. The economic rationale is that by making the rich richer, the prosperity will “trickle down” to everyone else.
Now, only about 5% of this country is considered wealthy. And of course you can’t win an election with only 5% of the electorate behind you. You need the middle and lower classes, too. But in order to get these folks to actually vote against their own economic interest, you’ve got to promise them something in return.
So the Republican Party promises to ban abortion, and ban gay marriage, and ban objectionable books, and teach creationism.
But here’s the rub: Republicans have controlled all three branches of government for six years. They haven’t banned abortion, and they haven’t banned gay marriage, and they haven’t instituted creationism, and they haven’t banned any books. In fact, I can’t recall a single instance of the Republicans even trying to legislate on these issues.
So my question is this: Are you being used? Are you voting against your own economic interest (unless you’re rich, of course) in hopes of seeing a conservative agenda implemented, only to watch the Republicans wind up in ethics scandals, and gay sex scandals, and divorce scandals, and unethical wars? I think we’re being used, and I’ll be voting my POCKETBOOK this time around!
14. iguana | 09.16.08
It’s a stupid gaffe. Honestly, who would believe that Fiorina could run a corporation?
As far as executive experience goes, I think Obama has the most, since he has run an organization with a wider geographic reach and bigger budget than any of the other candidates. He has run the biggest campaign operation of any presidential candidate ever.
15. Dmitriy | 09.16.08
Wow, this was nowhere near pig-with-lipstick comment. No wonder Obamabots are jumping over this. They have no idea how businesses work. With Obama our economy will get even worse.
16. Clem | 09.16.08
Some people still treasure honesty. I am glad she said what she thought.
As a strategy, one should not lie an obvious lie, lest people will not trust you for whatever else you say.
By saying Fiorina failed, what these critics are really saying is that those listeners were fools and that lie wasn’t an obvious lie. How smart is that?? With these kind of strategist, let’s see how McCain can win.
17. Chris | 09.16.08
So the author of this article is saying that Fiorina should have LIED to help John Mccain?
18. TJ | 09.16.08
GW Bush is the first President with an MBA. He could not run a company, those of us in Texas know, and he cannot run a country, either, those of us in the world know.
Mc Cain didn’t know how to use his eject button on his jets, graduating fifth from the bottom. Can he run a company or a country? Think not.
Palin left debt free Wasilla in $26 million debt as she exited to bigger and better things; she literally shares governing with her husband; milks the citizens to subsidize her income; and can see Russia from her house. No Way.
19. gns100 | 09.16.08
It depends on what is meant by “running” the corporation. Given 1) the heads of large corporations have the title of chief EXECUTIVE officer and sometimes president, 2) CEOs and presidents make “executive” decisions (whatever that means), and 3) the question was posed to a former CEO, it follows that if they can’t run a corporation, what makes them able to run a government? Yes, it can be argued that governments aren’t corporations, then why have a corporate person as a chairman. Or why did it seem important that Bush/Cheney had corporate experience?
20. Matt | 09.16.08
The underlying problem is, Palin was picked by the Bush crowd that’s taken over McCain’s campaign. And like Ann Richard’s said about George Bush - “He’ll out stupid you every time.” So don’t expect anything different. They’re doing their damndest to make the discourse in this campaign as stupid as possible. Because stupidity is their ace and they know it. They know it, and they’re happy to run with it.
21. Don | 09.16.08
Carly Fiorina herself, as business history will plainly document, was not qualified to run a corporation. HP was a basket case when the board showed her the door. Her ’style’ got her into trouble back at HP, and her lack of style has now gotten her, again, into trouble. Adios.
22. flopsie | 09.16.08
this is the thing. its like its not about did she tell the truth, its did she say something good for the campaign. what i really hate, is that this election is turning into playing political games, and not about who is best for america.
23. AJ | 09.16.08
Cannot run HP but can run a country…? Does this mean that company is above country to Fiorina?
If you want to derive a correlation between the two jobs - GW Bush did run a company into the ground before running a country into the ground…
24. johnny | 09.16.08
Carly Fiorina couldn’t run Hewlett-Packard either - she was fired and the succeeding management team reversed her course for the company.
25. Brian | 09.16.08
Honestly, would would believe Fiorina could run a corporation? Oops… she couldn’t. Her tenure at Hewlett Packard was a joke. Carly should stick to what she does best — pretend to be someone relevant. If McCain’s choices of Palin and Fiorina are a judge of what the American people can expect in the next 4 years, we have much more serious problems than the occasional gaffe…
26. Steve | 09.16.08
Anyone who listens to Carly Fiorina is a sucker. She’s good at self-promotion, but nothing else.
It’s not good that McCain listens to her for economic advice.
27. McShame | 09.16.08
Abe Lincoln for CEO! Really, this country is on a moronic track. Let’s take it further. Could Jesus have run Enron into the ground? Would Moses have been able to build Boeing? What is with this country? Oh well. Any nation that could be excited over a total nobody like Palin has to be suspect.
28. AM | 09.16.08
This argument about who is qualified to run a corporation (including a city or state) should be able to run the country is ludicrous! No President ever runs the country. He (since there has not been a she yet) directs the country and hundreds of thousands of bureaucrat manage millions of lower bureaucrats.
We need a President who can change the direction of this country. We need someone who can direct and energize others to:
- Fix the Economic mess
- Fix the Health Care mess
- Fix the Foreign Mess
- Fix the Moral Mess
- Fix the Environmental Mess
The arguments are nowhere people! “No one is right if everyone is wrong”. Stop this nonsense.
We need the right wing and left wing nuts to go away in the desert and do each other in.
We need the rest of us in the middle to have a guiding light of moderism to heal this planet.
We need to go back to the idealism of our founding fathers and NOT the evangelicals on the right or the elitist on the left. There is NO god who is going to fix this nor is there a Mao! It is just us moderate humans who need to get this done!
If we want to get rid the world of Terrorism, then we as a Nation must stop our government to stop helping companies terrorize nations by subjugating them because of OIL. There is no bigger god than money and power! If you true believers want to show your faith, then shun the false gods of greed!
Please pass this post on to each and every blogger.. please
29. SC | 09.16.08
14 - Why on Earth would you think Obama is running the campaign and fund-raising operations? That’s like saying Brad Pitt runs the every aspect of the making of the movies he’s in. That’s simply ridiculous. At the end of the day there’s no obligation to deliver anything after spending hundreds of millions of dollars. If he loses he’s just another dot bomb company.
As far as his bigger budget it’s largely due to his flip flop to not accept only public funding. I will, however, agree that his organization would likely have raised more than McCain’s if McCain didn’t agree to the limits.
30. Tkevan | 09.16.08
Iguana,
Obama doesn’t run his campaign, David Plouffe does.
Tracy,
Palin didn’t try to ban any books, stop reading the chain mail. She doesn’t want to ban abortions, she wants each state to make that decision, not the federal government. She does think creationism should be taught along side evolution.
31. RedRat | 09.16.08
Well I guess the truth hurts. But let us be reasonable. Running a business is quite different from running the country, for crying out loud. There is no comparison. This is a downright silly and incorrect comparison. Of course, none of the candidates are qualified to run any business, and making such a comparison is just plain nonsense.
32. BlackAbbot | 09.16.08
Carly was clearly incompetent to run HP so how can she be a judge of the qualities that are required to be successful?
33. Dmitriy | 09.16.08
The first subprime lenders to stick it to borrowers and have her bank seized is a woman named Penny Pritzker, who just happens to be Barack Obama’s campaign Finance Chair (as confirmed on April 3, 2008) and a potential Secretary of the Treasury in an Obama administration.
34. lindsay | 09.16.08
Angela, THANK YOU! I am laughing at how everything is sexist if you utter the words “Sarah Palin”. Sarah cannot even speak or think for herself, and McCain picked her because she’s a woman. THAT is sexist. Of course she couldn’t run a corporation, nor could she run the country. It looks as if she has a hard time keeping her own kids in line. Hiring and promoting women based on their gender and not qualifications is….. drumroll….. SEXIST!
Hence, Carly.
Hence, Sarah.
Now, in Meg Whitman’s case, eBay is almost ruined. She ruined it before she bolted, and left the new guy, a Democrat, holding the bag.
Yeah, ole McCain sure knows how to pick the losers. Sorry if that sounds sexist. I’m female. I can be sexist anytime I dang well please!
35. PhotoFlight | 09.16.08
That does it! I’m voting for Steve Jobs! There’s a guy who knows how to run a corporation.
I know some folks who worked at HP when CF took over. To a person they said it was if a black cloud had descended and proceed to suck all the good from the company. One guy took early retirement at age 42.
Don’t worry none about business advisers. McCain still has the former CEO of eBay on his staff. Maybe we can pay off the national debt by auctioning off items from the Smithsonian. After all aren’t museums just for elitist liberals?
Bill F
36. new mexican | 09.16.08
Excellent point, iguana.
I work for Intel Corp, and my salary puts me in the top ten percent of US earners. I am wealthy, although I come from a family that is not. I can tell you that over the past eight years, I have gotten richer and richer. I am appalled at how low my tax rate is. Really, I wouldn’t mind paying more taxes. I can afford to. Meanwhile, my single-mother sister, who teaches elementary school, is barely making it.
Don’t assume that all wealthy people are like McCain and Carly. Some of us believe in higher taxes for the top 10%. And that’s not socialism. It’s smart capitalism. It’s not going to hurt me at all to skim a bit more off in taxes. I’ll still have my big house and everything else. It’s a way to be able to keep our national budget healthy and not hurt the majority of people financially.
37. Dr. Obvious | 09.16.08
Carly Fiorina didn’t miscommunicate - she’s right! Like a political reporter being employed as a market analyst, leading a country is a completely different position than running a company. What ever possessed CSM to chase Carly with that stick? Is CSM that bent on discrediting the McCain camp that it will take a swat at anyone close by? If CNN is right (and they often avoid right so skillfully), McCain was goaded into getting mad over nothing.
Much of the media has lost their moral compass on the political process and this is perhaps another example of its misuse of power. While I am not a republican, I certainly feel bad for McCain when I see deliberate (albeit obviously disparate) instigation like this. Like when a gossip gets exposed, this feels dirty somehow.
38. erik | 09.16.08
In all honesty if I was to elect a CEO it would go to Obama without hesitation.
Palin? well she could be a manager in Human Resources or maybe run some company soft-ball games. Shes a joke and everybody knows it. Thats why shes not allowed to talk to reporters without a script. McCain well are you kidding?
the man knows one thing, the senate and really isnt all so great at that. Biden well see my answer for McCain, but he is needed for just that. We as a nation will be walking right past a great leader if we miss Obama this election.
39. kgb999 | 09.16.08
How exactly is reading a speech written by Bush’s guys a home run? She even had to make up some sort of teleprompter story (now debunked, but she keeps on saying it anyhow) to explain when she got lost. If you have to blame something in your speech on a teleprompter it was pretty lame!
That’s a republican home run? Sort of explains a lot.
40. Seth | 09.16.08
What a moronic thing to do. She even mentioned how you need a “lifetime” of experience to run a corporation - something no one could say she had starting at HP. If I were her, I would seriously re-think my career because she can’t run a company successfully, and doing this shows she doesn’t know politics to save her life.
41. greg | 09.16.08
On Fiorina’s comments, at least she told the truth. You’d rather her lie to help the cadidate? As for running a major corporation Fiorina isn’t qualified either.
42. Jay | 09.16.08
Duh..it’s like in the movie Ghostbusters…when Gozer asks Ray if he’s a god and he says ‘no’.. and Ernie Hudson says - ‘…Ray. If someone asks if you are a god, you say, “yes!” ….
43. lindsay | 09.16.08
Look what kind of women McCain has surrounded himself with. YIKES.
You really have to wonder why any female would think McCain would advocate for women. He’s a typical male of his generation; trying to ‘get it’ but failing miserably.
44. Fiorina Fan | 09.16.08
Carly Fiorina is a great writer … of her own RESUME!!!!
How can anyone mess up so many corporations and keep getting bigger and bigger golden parachutes. There is talent there, somewhere, but where, really?
45. Yrag | 09.16.08
Sarah Palin capable of running a Fortune 500 business? The question itself is ludicrous. Have you read the latest about her early governor days? Well it seems that “…Governor Palin hired at least five schoolmates for official positions at salaries that far exceeded their private sector wages.
One of these, a former real estate agent, was made director of the State Division of Agriculture after citing her childhood love of cows as a qualification for the job…”
Can you imagine this flying at a large business? A small business? A trailer park? Of course it is similar to GW’s pick for head of FEMA (Katrina mess)…. wasn’t he a dog trainer or something?
46. Doug Chance | 09.16.08
It was the perfect gotcha question for Carly. Her outsized ego couldn’t stand the idea of Palin being capable of doing what Carly did. (not)
If the interviewer had really been on his game, his followup would’ve been “How about you, Carly? Could you run a big company like HP?” Oh wait, that’s right, you got canned after driving the company into the ground.
47. Nadeem | 09.17.08
If Carly could not run HP and Republicans/McCain have made her the head of the party’s joint fundraising committee with the McCain campaign, then it shows extremely poor judgment on the Republican Party’s part and it also confirms that Republicans cannot be trusted with the US anymore. Imagine McCain appointing her to the “Committee that will investigate why US financial system tanked”. Nothing like being honest and saying Carly gaffed and distance yourself from her, like he did with Gramm. But how many more Carlys and Gramms are amongst his coterie? We do not need mavericks to return this country to glory. We need pragmatists and visionaries.
48. Smart woman for Obama | 09.17.08
Fiorina worked for Compaq then moved on to HP.
Laid off thousands of workers without guilt.
Got fired from HP and guess what?
She walked away with A $21 million severance package!
I think McCain should keep her on staff…it’s making Obama look even more enticing to swing voters.
Then there’s Tucker Bounds who’s needs to “come out of the closet”!
49. Mister E | 09.17.08
I laughed when I first heard that McCain had Carly Fiorina as an adviser. She drove one of the finest business enterprises that America has ever produced into the ground. Her idea of innovation was computers the color of the suit she wore at the Republican national convention. HP couldn’t fire her because she held the “politically correct” gun at the boards head. They were forced to pay her $5 million just to get rid of her. Since she left HP is doing extremely well.
At the convention, her personal slogan was , “I know John McCain”. She said it over and over again. So when she says he couldn’t run a company, she knows what she is talking about. Since she didn’t say she knew Obama, then obviously she is not qualified to comment about his business acumen. The fact that McCain ever considered her as an adviser demonstrates that he doesn’t know what he is talking about.
50. Mickey007 | 09.17.08
So Iguana, do you really thing that B.O. runs the day to day campaign operations. His only function is read speeches from a teleprompter that have been written by someone else. Without the teleprompter, he cannot speak with conviction because he hasn’t any of his own. Do you really want a president that voted “Present” 130 time without having to take a stand on any of the hard issues. A person who will not stand for anything, will fall for everything.
51. Redneck Liberal | 09.17.08
Good executive decision-making one the part of Senator McCain: surround yourself with the best and brightest help you can find, the let them do their jobs.
Oops.
52. bill sullivan | 09.17.08
So, I suppose then that we are then to infer that when these two supposed “mavericks” (McCain, Palin) encounter a, what, true maverick (Fiorini), and the heat in the kitchen cranks up, then the reaction is once again good ol’ politics as usual in the form get rid of the cook (Fiorini) or direct the cook to foul the meal, tell a lie of convenience, and falsely answer the question “yes”. My take is that neither Senator McCain, nor Governor Palin is ready for prime time. Oh, I’ve lived in Alaska the past 27 of my 50 some years.
53. EveryWord | 09.17.08
I’ve imagined the transcript of the little double-minded dialog that must have been going on in Fiorina’s head at the moment she was asked the question by Andrea Mitchell:
Carly’s Ego: “Must be loyal & Republican, even if lying is required ….”
Carly’s Id: “Wait! I was CEO of HP, and was dumped by a board that deemed *me* unqualified. Does that make me unqualified to say that Sarah’s qualified? Damn, better just say no, but Geez, my head hurts.”
Carly’s Ego: “Must … stick … to … talking points ….”
Carly’s Id: “Damn, a woman asked me this question? That ain’t supposed to happen. Andrea, you really expect me to say that Sarah’s more qualified for my old CEO job than I was??? Cannot … not wired for this ….”
Carly’s Super-Ego (as referee): “Damn McCain — didn’t somebody tell him that I’m more qualified to be Veep than Sarah? Fine! She’s qualified to run HP! Let her have it! I’m the better VP anyway! Why can’t you people see it?”
Then after all the damage was done, surely this: “Why couldn’t I ever get Cindy’s Botox guy? All I needed to was to *look* like I was maintaining my composure.”
54. Ben Hurt | 09.17.08
Tracey asks, “Are you being used [by the Republicans]?” I have marveled for decades at how obvious this is, and yet how gullible the Republican base remains. No, the Demorcrats are not perfect, but the Republicans have lying down to a fine art. They treat their base as if they are idiots, and then that base votes for them and proves them right.
Republicans are always mad about something, but like children they get mad at the wrong things, instead of the people who are using them. But, Republicans as a group also have one other large problem: they can rationalize almost anything as long as someone seems to agree with them. The naked truth just doesn’t seem to be something they can grasp. Too bad. We really need that common sense that they think they have.
55. Horace Brownbag | 09.17.08
What’s up with David Gergen?
“David Gergen expressed admiration for Bounds after the interview.”
I think there’s a problem when not being straight forward is admirable.
Nah, seriously….a real problem.
56. Joe | 09.17.08
Actually, this can only help McCain. Having Fiorina out there as an economic adviser was a total embarrassment, given that she ran HP into the ground and set the stage for the later spying scandals by creating paranoia on the board.
If McCain actually had competent economic advisers, he wouldn’t be doing so badly right now. Their economic gaffes have handed that issue to the Democrats on a silver platter, whether you want to talk about the “mental recession”, how many houses McCain owns, if people have to make $5 million to be “rich”, or all the other silly gaffes they’ve gone through because of their incompetence.
57. Dallas Mike | 09.17.08
If the corperation could recieve earmark funding, Palin could run it. Of coarse, she’d spend a great amount of time trying to get her ex-brother in law, the security guard fired.
58. Oregon4Obama | 09.17.08
This election is about the issues…..its about the vision….
On taxes, Obama wants to raise income taxes on those who make over $250,000/year, McCain wants to lower a quarter of his taxes on corporations and those who make over $2Million/year…..Obama helps more middle class people
On healthcare, Obama want universal healthcare with emphasis on checkups, preventative care, child care and paying doctors on how a persons health increases not just by visit…….Chances are the plan will cost about the same as McCains, but the arizona senator wants to help privatize healthcare and incentivizing individual healthcare over group care, so it wont stop discrimination for pre-existing conditions and its paid for by a tax credit on borrowed money…..According to an independent study released today, Obama’s plan would cover about 35 million of the 47 million without healthcare and Mccain would cover 5million at best
On education, Obama has a much clearer and commanding position over McCain……McCain thinks no child left behind is doing well, meanwhile Obama will give $4000/year to anyone who will repay it in some type of volunteer service like the salvation army……
The Bush-McCain-Palin domestic and foreign policy has failed and will continue to favor the few over the many…..vote smart, vote Obama
59. Eric Henderson | 09.17.08
I don’t know why we automatically assume such distance between running a company and running the country, or for that matter running a Presidential campaign.
Imagine the place of Strategy, Marketing, Message Control, Brand Identity, Budgeting, Staffing, Personnel Issues, Administration, Planning, …answering to shareholders.
Do you really think the country is not a corporation? You’re right. It’s not. It’s a bit more complex than that as there are a bunch of fellow employees (in the house and senate) who also wield (formally and informally) mini-CEO powers acting.
Further, there tends to be real failure at stake for the CEO of the country whereas the CEO of a company often enters with a guaranteed contract, one that pays bonuses in spite of personal failure or the failure of any of the functions described above is not carried out with the highest professionalism.
I think the jobs compare pretty well, with CEO of the country having an edge in degree of difficulty.
60. Kyle | 09.17.08
It’s a stupid gaffe. Honestly, who would believe that McCain, Palin, Obama, or Biden could run a corporation?
What a stupid statement. For starters, Obama and McCain already run organizations with revenues, budgets, and employees typical of corporations. Much more important, we are electing the leader of the largest economy in the world. This week the President had to decide if he would bale out the largest financial entities in the world and risk collapsing the US economy in doing so, or risk collapsing the US economy by not doing so. And you think none of the nominees can run a corporation? They better be able to do so… and much, much more.
61. Joe User | 09.17.08
In fact, Palin probably could be a decent CEO of a moderately large corporation. If she
hired and listened to a strong executive team. 90% of the job is cheerleading, fundraising,
and holding people to schedules. Not terribly unlike what the VP job is all about.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to be very good at hiring a strong executive team.
By all reports, the nepotism in the Alaska government was pretty bad. That’s the
sort of thing that can sink a CEOs career and potentially sink an entire corporation.
It’s the sort of thing that nobody wants in the white house either, for similar but
much more serious reasons.
Asking Fiorina this question was absolutely brilliant.
62. Bud | 09.17.08
I would think that any of the candidates, Obama, McSame, Palin, or Biden could probably do a fair job of running a corporation if they had to. Pretty sharp folks.
Of course, I think Barack Obama would do a much better job than anyone.
YES
WE
CAN
64. Harlow | 09.17.08
CNN is consistant!! The headline on their story is “Carly Fiorina says Sarah Palin cannot run a corporation”. What CNN failed to say in the headline is that Carly also said NONE of the Presidential or VP candidates are capable of running a corporation. So, it’s wash. None of the nominees are CEO material!
If a business represents itself as a news organization….report the news in an honest way…..period!!! The person at CNN who created that headline, should be really, really ashammed.
66. ivy | 09.17.08
Its amazing to see the gap between both candidates in the quality of people from all walks of life.
Technology: Dems have support of all of creative companies’ workforce (Apple, Google….) and Republicans have second/third tier rejected egomaniacs like Carly.
Academics: Almost all of top academics in US and abroad are rooting for Obama.
Entertainment: Bands are creating songs for Obama campaigns while they are asking McCain to not use their publicly released music.
Defense: Majority of retired top brass is in Obama’s corner.
I wonder why the election is still as close as the last 2 times. I can understand why the committed dems and republican voters can’t be changed irrespective of who their candidate is but what’s up w/ the independents. WHy do they hate republican rule before election when it hits them at pocektbook but are swayed by shiny things when it get close to making a decision on election day.
Also, despite all the talk of left bias in media, why they don’t talk about issues, long term analysis, data based analysis of candidates proposal instead of focusing on mere words.
68. Stormn | 09.17.08
The point here is not that she did not answer correctly but the fact she should have known better. Both side Democrats and Republicans are following a script to sell the American public that they know what they are doing. It is quite obvious both are out of their leagues.
What everyone should be saying here is enough of the chatter and lets see the future now. What is it you will do to change this economy from robbers masquerading in business suits on Wall Street and Big Oil. Tell us the truth for we are fed up to our eye balls with lies.
I believe the American public can handle the truth. We are Trillions of dollars in debt and it will be generations before America sees black on the ledger again.
Clinton pushed for deregulation to put people into houses they could ill afford. The banks now tell us they were pushing the Bush agenda. Why else would government of the people use us to pay off the mistakes of this industry. Sweep it all under the rug and stay on talking points. The reason is everyone of us should be up and out in the street hollering for the heads of our failed leadership.
Quit crying and start during something other than ********. This government is no longer for the people but for business. They are politicians in the pockets of business and it needs to stop. They write rules to correct business practices but conveniently put in loop holes so they can continue to claim it wasn’t them but someone else that voted for these illegal loop holes allowing them to continue abusing.
I’m fed up with fancy dressing politicians lying to all of us. You name it and it has been done to the American people in the name of good government. McCain and Obama one will be President and we are talking about appearances, innuendos and false promises.
Lets hear the straight talk express speak without lying through his teeth. Obama the community organizer could not find a solution unless it is spend and tax your way out of it. Guess who will pay for the solutions.
Forget about Palin and Biden. I want to hear from the person which will accept the buck stops here and puts his *** on the line now.
We the American people deserve nothing less.
69. Ron | 09.17.08
FACT:
On October 6, 2007 data was released by the IRS that offered interesting insights into the distributional spread of the federal income tax burden. The data showed that the top-earning 25% of taxpayers (AGI over $62,068) earned 67.5% of the nation’s income, but they paid more than four out of every five dollars collected by the federal income tax (86%). The top 1% of taxpayers (AGI over $364,657) earned approximately 21.2% of the nation’s income (as defined by AGI), yet paid 39.4% of all federal income taxes. That means the top 1% of tax returns paid about the same amount of federal individual income taxes as the bottom 95% of tax returns.
70. Fred Bosick | 09.17.08
Carly Fiorina almost destroyed Hewlett-Packard. She’s not fit to run a corporation either! But in true CEO greed form, she walked away with a nice little golden parachute. And some bozo picked her as a campaign consultant? Well, now they know better.
You know, I could nearly run a corporation into the ground AND say stupid things in public. Where’s my millions? Even just one million is good enough for me.
71. Gaias Child | 09.17.08
Since it is true, it is only a gaffe in the realms of being dishonest to have some kind of power in a party or campaign or administration. Since Fiorina is not stupid and since it is true, one has to conclude that either she preferred truth to fakery or she has some of unconscious urge toward self-defeat. In any case, let us now enjoy the spectacle of John McCain’s icy revenge to express his white hot rage. If he had any creative imagination he could have probably had Carly fix up when she said on her now apparently canceled interviews. Let’s don’t mistake Palin’s presence as any indicator of less-than-usual paternalism, imperial fatherliness, on McCain’s part. Palin fits in to that. Does it matter that what Carly said is true?
72. Stormn | 09.17.08
13. Tracey | 09.16.08
I could not agree with you more. Both parties need to be held accountable. Nancy Polosi stated the Democrats were going to shake things up. They have not done anything and now they a worse rating them P GWB. We need something and perhaps it is a third party to make sure we the people are represented. All we are getting out of both these parties is different faces using power for their own self interest.
73. Jill Again | 09.17.08
What a joke. I don’t know anyone at any major corporation that would hire this woman for a department head, let alone run HP or be VP. Not qualified, but worse, the one who put her in that position. Now, THAT was really bad decisionmaking.
74. When Elephants Fly (http://whenelephantsfly.blogspot.com) | 09.17.08
Fiorina was caught off guard, and surprise she gave us some straight talk about McCain and Palin. And for telling the truth, McCain will make her disappear. It looks like the straight talk express is derailing.
Obama has run an excellent campaign - don’t forget that he overcame tremendous odds just to get where he was, and then overcame even greater odds to win the Democratic primary. I’m continually impressed by his level of organization and fund of knowledge. He will make an excellent President.
Comments welcome: http://whenelephantsfly.blogspot.com.
75. Dan Rains | 09.17.08
Tucker Bounds has a moral obligation to speak truthfully about the qualifications of the Republican vice-presidential candidate, and for that matter, about McCain. But he’s getting paid to spin, so he’s going to be dishonest. It doesn’t matter, we expect him to because he’s got a job to do. However, the American people have a job to do, too, in November, and something tells me that no matter how hard these Republicans try to hide the truth about their candidates, the American people are not going to be fooled this time. No, there’s too much blood on the line this time. The Republicans have disgraced this country, and they are going to pay for it big time in November. They can spin all they want, but it’s payback time.
76. Skyview | 09.17.08
As for McCain, he has never run anything, including his campaigns for President…..And I doubt that anyone seriously beleives he has the capacity to be president; he is emotionally unstable, intellectually unsuited and politically ill-natured to effectively lead anything or anyone.
77. lottapaws | 09.17.08
Tracey from post 13,
You are wrong. The Republicans have NOT controlled all three branches of government. They have controlled the executive branch having had Republican presidents, but unless you’ve been asleep since the last election, regarding the legislative branch, well, have you heard that Nancy Pelosi is now Speaker of the House? She’s in the news quite often. If you weren’t aware, Speaker of the House goes to the party in power. Democrats hold the majority, therefore, Speaker of the House is a Democrat. Over on the Senate side, the Democrats ALSO hold the majority. Yes, Tracey, the do nothing, oft single digit approval rated Congress is controlled by the Democrats. And the third branch, the judicial, well, that would be the Supreme Court where being a justice does not include anything to do with your party affiliation. Thomas, Scalia, Alito and Roberts are on the right. Ginsburg, Souter, Breyer, and Stevens are on the left with Kennedy the swing vote.
78. lottapaws | 09.17.08
Iguana, post 14,
If you are going to use that kind of skewed logic, then the nod would have to go to McCain for having FAR more years of experience in running large campaigns. This isn’t his first bid for president, you know. And right now isn’t the time to be praising his campaign skills since his decision to forgo the matching funds may bite him in the rump, his refusing to select Clinton as VP and the woman capable of handing him 18 million votes, and not to overlook how the Democrats ’should’ have this election in the bag simply because of the 8 year Republican presidency and the low approval ratings for Bush. YET, Obama is running behind McCain in most polls and showing his frustrations through poor choices.
Just some food for thought for you.
79. Richard | 09.17.08
Before Fiorina, few corporate owned jets at HP, after Fiorina a fire sale to get rid of her fleet. During Fiorini destruction of a legendary corporate culture. After Fiorina by way of new corporate culture, an acquisition and 25,000 pink slips. Fiorina is a case model for what is wrong in corporate governance. But, she was right to criticism Palin. McCain did himself a disservice in not asking Carly to vet her. But, hey, he goes with his gut. Seems the guy he wants to replace did the same thing. Obama, protect yourself, you and Biden are the remaining hope for this sad nation and quite a few others as well.
80. Louies | 09.17.08
Please Carly knows how to run a company she ran two of the best high tech companies to the ground and made millions. You have to respect such ignorance.
81. Tired and Bored | 09.17.08
Good god, the obama has excectuive experience because he can run a presidential campaign argument really needs to die. It was a stupid thing for him to say in the first place and repeating just makes him look pathetic.
And for all Obama`s talk about a clean campaign he sure has been manipulating a lot of quotes lately. This one is just shameful, taking this lady`s quote completely out of context. Also the other story today where Obama is try to distort the quote by one of McCain`s staffers, about how McCain helped usher in the telecommunications advances of the last 15 years, into John McCain saying he invented the Blackberry (for the obvious Al Gore nostalgia).
I know McCain uses the same tactics, but at least he isn`t two-faced about it. A different kind of candidate indeed…
82. El Mugroso | 09.17.08
Fiorino is much like Sarah Palin.
She used her femenino to raise from being a receptionist at AT%T where she married an old executive who soon retired. He helped her out to where she got.
-She was FIRED from HP for incompetence, as she dragged the stock to record lows. Immediately as she was fired, the stock went up 7%.
-BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER, is true in this case.
With the comments worthy of her self-promoting interest, she only disclosed HER OWN SITUATION of not being able to run HP. By apponting herself “as the measure”, she only diminished herself.
84. John | 09.17.08
This demonstrates how bad McCains decision making capabilities are when he chooses a CEO who almost ran one of the United States premier technology companies into the ground as an economic advisor.
86. jesse | 09.17.08
As an obama supporter I can say that this story is not news worthy, and McCain’s likely ousting of this woman for this reason is a sad fact of politics. We should all shame media for distracting us and bringing down the level of our political discourse. They are cashing in on this type of junk.
Of course, in the end if all of the distractions were gone, Obama would be our clear choice. What good policy ideas do McCain or Palin have to lead us nito the future?
87. Jay Rosen | 09.17.08
“This is just how campaigns work.”
That sentence refers to an existing corpus of knowledge that reporters and others use to explain to the rest of us “how campaigns work.” Trouble is that body of knowledge has been wrong time and again in 08, or it failed to predict; and yet Jimmy Orr seems to be relying on it like everything is just peachy with the knowledge saved up from prior campaigns. But is it? How about the stealth strategy for the McCain VP (virtually no interviews, which means no free media.) Is that “how campaigns work?” No, it isn’t. But it’s happening. At this point, Jimmy, can you honestly say you know how campaigns work?
88. Wallace | 09.17.08
If you hire someone and they turn out to be an idiot - it doesn’t make you an idiot.
If you keep them around - then you’re an idiot.
Fiorina’s stupidity is obvious, if McCain keeps her - he’s stupid too.
She should be fired for incompetence just like she was from HP.
89. walterrhett, Charleston, SC | 09.17.08
Tied to her ego, bound by her candidate, lead by her own views, Carly is a breth of fresh air! Why can’t we have a little diversity with the marching scripts? Could not her so-called “gaffees” be seen as confidence and a big embrace of all-points-of-view? Honestly, each word spoken is now placed under a microscope, and blown up way our of proportion to its place and meaning. In the meantime, Wall Street fails, mega-financial institutions tumble, weekend deals shift tens of billions of dollars without oversight by the President, either party, or business peers, and we are “concerned” over a “comment” by a sidelined CEO?
90. Chuck | 09.17.08
Should she be fired for telling the TRUTH ?
I think it’s STRAIGHT TALK !!!
Keep her there, she’s doing great !!
91. Paddy Rao | 09.17.08
Amen, my friend, and Fiorina was lambasted by the Wall Street Journal when she was booted out of HP.
Tell you what, you and I could run HP better than Carly Fiorina.
92. American Citizen | 09.17.08
Honestly McCain doesn’t know how to use email and you people agree that he can run a corporation. Seriously is he going to get out his pad and paper and have a mail person run all his memos throughout the office. Get real
93. Amused | 09.17.08
I don’t believe it matters much whether Fiorina thinks that Palin could or not run a company. When she got to HP the stock was around 40$ when she finally got fired it was around $20. In between she bought Compaq while most HP insiders and analysts told her it was a bad idea. She was going to show everybody and she did; how to devalue an icon. Not only the acquisition did not generate expected results but some of the strategic decisions she made were also very wrong. Her successor scraped most of them, profits went back to normal and so did the stock price. Those who can DO; those can’t teach or ADVISE. We don’t yet know what can Fiorina really do well.
94. Country Boy | 09.17.08
I sure hope she’s finished. Lot of damage done by irresponsible remarks. Maybe they will send her here she outsourced the HP jobs.
95. Deborah J. | 09.17.08
Carly got caught talking “fact” instead of spin. The McCain campaign (and, from the look of things, most of his blogging supporters)will have none of that!
Yup, once again, you’re all shooting the messenger! (Remember, McCain keeps choosing these people. Shouldn’t he own that?!)
The Republicans are desperate. They’ve even resorted to over-inflating their crowd estimates (according to Bloomberg). Turns out, their gal Sarah is a flash in the pan. (And, Troopergate is only the tip of the fast-melting iceberg.)
96. Mike Sloan | 09.17.08
Carly had really some axe to grind with McCain since she did not get the vp post as she was expecting. For months, the republican propaganda machine put her on a pedestal. HP found out early that she was not fit to run their corporation. Now that Carly Fiorina has dragged attention people are talking about the golden parachute she recieved from HP (21 million dollars) so that HP could get rid of her. McCain talks about reforming all these. How is he going to do this with people like Carly Fiorina close to his bosom.
97. mmhurst | 09.17.08
Get the facts y’all! The headlines read, “Carly Fiorina says Sarah Palin cannot run a corporation” because THAT was the answer she gave. Latter in the day, on another media outlet (MSNBC) she was read the question and her answer and she tried to fix her gaffe with the followed up that “well McCain couldn’t eithe or Obama or Biden.” This is NOT selected reporting! She stuck her foot in her mouth and then tried to fix it. She could of…should of…in the follow up, just mention Obama, but instead starts of by saying McCain couldn’t followed by Obama and Biden. I mean c’mon. She works for the McCain/Palin campaign! We expect her to say Obama/Biden can’t run a company…that isn’t a news story. The fact the she said Palin couldn’t and followed up latter in the day with the others couldn’t…that IS the news story. This isn’t the lefty left liberal media making things up. Carly is full of herself and her comments reflect that. If she thinks for a second McCain/Palin can’t run a company, we are then supposed to believe her when she says the can run the largest and most complex economy in the world (and the economy is only one aspect of the job). Please, that is the story…not that, “Oh, by the way, I think Obama/Biden can’t run a company either”. This hurts McCain, not because I agree or disagree with Ms. Fiorina’s statements, but rather McCain needs to surround himself with the best and brightest. Carly Fiorina, who excels and running companies into the ground and sticking her foot in her mouth, is neither. It shows bad leadership on the part of McCain to have her around.
98. Koronin | 09.17.08
—
That means the top 1% of tax returns paid about the same amount of federal individual income taxes as the bottom 95% of tax returns.
—
Those 1% don’t worry about the price of gas, the price of food yadda yadda yadda
100. Vrob125 | 09.17.08
Carly Fiorina, David Brooks, Peggy Noonan, the list of inadvertant truth tellers grows. It is hard to lie to oneself.
The Straight Talk Express continues.
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. John | 09.16.08
It’s a stupid gaffe.
Honestly, who would believe that McCain, Palin, Obama, or Biden could run a corporation?