Carly Fiorina: Palin couldn’t have done my job — and neither could Obama; Update: Neither could McCain, adds Fiorina
posted at 2:35 pm on September 16, 2008 by Allahpundit
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As always when a conservative says something soundbite-worthy, there’s the full, accurate quote and there’s the bowdlerized version generated for mass consumption by the left. See Marc Ambinder for an example of the latter and HuffPo, surprisingly, for an example of the former. Not the first time lately they’ve resisted the temptation to distort.
We’re supposed to wet our pants over this, I guess, based on the theory that if you’re not ready for one of the world’s biggest management jobs then logically you can’t be ready for the very biggest. Maybe that’s true. In that case, is Joe Biden ready to step in and reorganize Lehman Bros.? Let’s let him have a go at it, to see how “qualified” he is to be president. How about drafting The One to run Microsoft? His first act could be canceling those Seinfeld commercials. The irony is, if Romney had been the VP pick, all we’d be hearing now is how running a business is completely different from running a government so surely success in the private sector shouldn’t count when weighing one’s vote.
Even so, she’s having herself a big week, isn’t she? Click the image to listen.
Update: It’s vacation time for Carly.
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Carly, let me know how the front axle is doing while you are under there.
Valiant on September 16, 2008 at 3:14 PM
It’s an article of faith among the far left that a 15 year old could run a large corporation, while your standard conservative believes experience and competence count. Palin? You take what you can get. McCain/Palin >> Obama/Biden.
Paul-Cincy on September 16, 2008 at 3:14 PM
Didn’t Fiorina get fired from HP? And what, I can’t say “b*tch” (comment rejected)?
lionheart on September 16, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Carly carries the typical feminist chip on her shoulder and it’s why I was praying she wouldn’t be on the ticket.
Connie on September 16, 2008 at 3:15 PM
QFT
vs.
Carly, who bought into a failing behemoth that did nothing but discredit HP’s brand and add massive debt to the company.
Damiano on September 16, 2008 at 3:16 PM
Your blog, your rules. I’ll comply. Sorry if I offended.
lionheart on September 16, 2008 at 3:16 PM
I’d have to disagree. When you’re a CEO, you are basically a politician: You’re responsible for crafting and managing “the message”, you set the tone for an organization, you formulate strategies to best your competition, and you are the face of your company to the public (via interviews, public appearances, etc.). A person who has held a CEO position in a large company ought to know something about message control and public relations.
Dagnar on September 16, 2008 at 3:16 PM
If that were to happen, I have this eerie feeling that a $0.10 tax would be levied every time you click the start button.
That, and the only site accessible by IE would be planned parenthood.
leetpriest on September 16, 2008 at 3:17 PM
I don’t understand why Romney hasn’t been sent out all over the place to talk about how these banks can be saved, the same way he saved the Olympics. Talk about a perfect match of experience to problem!
With McCain’s former comments about his weak understanding of economic issues, a lot of people aren’t going to believe his talking points. Romney can get out there and really say he knows all about it.
Missed opportunity for the McCain campaign.
Common Sense on September 16, 2008 at 3:17 PM
McCain threw Phil Gramm under the bus, that was unwarranted. Let’s switch Carly for Phil. That’s fair. Though now he needs to modify his “we’re not in a recession” position.
Paul-Cincy on September 16, 2008 at 3:19 PM
Fiorina is on Fox right now….
WTF.
CanadianGuy on September 16, 2008 at 3:21 PM
Carly is a failed ex-CEO, ex-biz-media celeb looking for someone to give her a gig. She probably thought she had one with McCain, then he goes and picks the 10-year-younger, pretty, conservative Sarah Palin.
You have no idea what this does to middle-aged lib feminists. Well, yes you do — they turn and lash out at everybody and everything.
McCain needs to dump her NOW before she does any more damage.
p.s. Honest to God, Bush and “the wild, wild west?” Doesn’t that tell you alot?
BigD on September 16, 2008 at 3:22 PM
Oooh, Carly, bitter much?
doppelganglander on September 16, 2008 at 3:22 PM
She’s blaming the Obama campaign for editing her words and standing by her assertion that McCain and Palin can’t run a corporation.
CanadianGuy on September 16, 2008 at 3:24 PM
Optimism is saying that the US economy is resiliant, not that the fundamentals are strong.
Like I wrote, even if what McCain were saying was accurate, it sounded wrong.
YYZ on September 16, 2008 at 3:25 PM
Pawlenty was on MSNBC trying to cover for Fiorina and he did a terrible job. To all McCain surrogates, if you are asked about Fiorina’s statement all you need to says is that neither could Obama. And that that is a problem because, unlike Palin, he is running for President. That’s all you need to say.
johnt on September 16, 2008 at 3:27 PM
“Hello, John?”
“Hello, Sarah, how are you?”
“Yes, I was thinking, there’s a former police commissioner in Alaska who’s feeling lonely. May I send him Carly Fiorina to keep him company?”
Steve Z on September 16, 2008 at 3:27 PM
The problem with Carly Fiorina saying this was that she couldn’t do the job, either.
BigD on September 16, 2008 at 3:31 PM
At the risk of being branded a heretic here, I’d take your thoughts a step further: Given how the economy’s become the central issue in this campaign, McCain should have probably picked Romney as his running mate. As a former Governor of Massachusetts, Romney’s not only got “executive experience” (like Palin) in the political sense, but also real work executive experience as well. Imagine having Romney at a debate with Biden, handling questions on the economy.
Dagnar on September 16, 2008 at 3:32 PM
I never have liked her she’s a B****. she’s the ‘genius’ behind the HP purchase of compaq if I am not mistaken. she also talked about how jobs for americans aren’t guaranteed…I’m glad to see her job wasn’t either.
right4life on September 16, 2008 at 3:35 PM
Carly couldn’t do her job either.
Her resume:
1. Bankrupted Lucent
2. Fired from HP months from them being bankrupt if her mismanagement continued.
Every company she’s run suffered when she ran it and only got better AFTER her departure.
Carly needs to shut up or get out. She’s hurting McCain.
wildcat84 on September 16, 2008 at 3:36 PM
Carly needs gone, in all honesty.
She was out there saying the Tina Fey skit was sexist and trying to stir up the lipstick stuff again.
Enoxo on September 16, 2008 at 3:38 PM
McSame is an olde naval officer; with his leadership ability he could organize a circular firing squad comprised of Gramm, Davis, Fiorina and a passel of the other lobbyist that infests his campaign staff and have them practice, dry firing.
Palin could be in charge of the individual marksmanship training; prior to the first actual deployment of the squad with live ammo.
J_Gocht on September 16, 2008 at 3:38 PM
Open letter to Speaker Pelosi,
Dear San Fran Nan,
Recently, requested permission of Republicans to “drill your brains”. At the time, this statement was criticized; but in a show of bipartisanship and good faith, I would now like to offer your the opportunity to do just that.
Please let me know when would be a convenient time to send Carly Fiorina to your office. Also, I will be happy to supply you with a drill.
Please let us know if you find any oil, as I am doubtful that you will find any brains. Still, it’s worth a shot.
Sincerely,
Damiano
Damiano on September 16, 2008 at 3:38 PM
I was never a fan of Carly’s CEO skills, myself, but she is correct. The skills required for being a CEO are quite different from those of President. Being President requires more of a strong ideological foundation than the technical aspects of CEO’s. The government’s job is to just insure my rights and my security, not run in competition with any other countries.
progressoverpeace on September 16, 2008 at 3:39 PM
And she keeps digging the hole deeper.
csdeven on September 16, 2008 at 3:39 PM
This gaffe is more about going on MSNBC and not being prepared for a hostile environment and about Carly’s ego than what she said — politicians would have trouble going into upper management roles with actual responsibilities right off the bat, in the same way a CEO would find morphing into a politician difficult.
But the statement still comes across as egotistical, both because it was inartfully stated and because it came on the heels of Monday’s slamming of the SNL skit about Palin, after Palin and her spokespeople had already diffused the issue (memo to Fiorina: If the candidate says she has no problem with Tina Fey’s portrayal, don’t go in 24 hours later and complain about it, because it comes across as Carly freelancing and offering the media her own opinions, not those of the McCain campaign).
jon1979 on September 16, 2008 at 3:39 PM
Given her mediocre record as Hewlett Packard’s CEO, Carly Fiorina apparently couldn’t do Carly Fiorina’s job, either.
Cicero43 on September 16, 2008 at 3:40 PM
Who cares?
Terrye on September 16, 2008 at 3:43 PM
McCain better hope the main issue of this election swings back to national security before mid October. The way his people are “helping” him, he is losing credibility everywhere else.
csdeven on September 16, 2008 at 3:43 PM
Hindsight is 20/20, but as some of you have mentioned Mitt Romney would have been the better choice for VP. He wouldn’t have got the initial bump or media exposure that Palin brought, but he would have been more than ready for Charlie Gibson.
And now that the economy is THE issue of the campaign, McCain would have been holding the trump card. He also could have kept hammering Obama over his lack of experience. He gave up that issue when he picked Sarah.
Oh well, I guess we’ll find out if he made the right choice in November.
joncoltonis on September 16, 2008 at 3:43 PM
Obviously, neither could Carly run HP (since she was tossed)
Captain America on September 16, 2008 at 3:44 PM
What is it with people that think no one can replace them? I think as long as you have a grasp of basic intelligence (i.e your not an idiot) anyone can pretty much do any job given training and a desire to do it. See this is called equaility. CEO’s that make billions? Hard work, luck, connections, more hard work, more luck, more connections, 20% natural talent.
unseen on September 16, 2008 at 3:47 PM
Heh. Mitt would have had to pay people to interview him and, even then, wouldn’t have gotten many takers. We’d have heard nothing but ‘Obama, Obama, Obama’ for the past 2 weeks, as we had heard for all the months before. The Republican Convention would have been a bust. Etc., etc.
progressoverpeace on September 16, 2008 at 3:48 PM
If only we’d nominated Huckadoodle’s gallstones with Huck as Veep I am *certain* that was the winning combo….
sven10077 on September 16, 2008 at 3:50 PM
Plain has helped McCain with the economy issues by strengthening the reformer image as well as making him look more in touch with average Americans. Romney had a lot of baggage. He is better left as a surrogate. They just need to get him out there. For some reason they haven’t yet.
johnt on September 16, 2008 at 3:50 PM
Since when is it the VP’s responsibility to fix the economy? Sure it would add some cred to the ticket, but it would not prevent the Libs from piling on. Don’t forget they have all the answers and conservatives hove none.
Mr_Magoo on September 16, 2008 at 3:51 PM
Carly Fiorina is planning to run for Senate or Governor of California or somewhere.
She is now practicing the media part of being a politician-speeches, talk shows; she is trying not to offend toü many future potential voters. This is not necessarily the best thing for McCain/Palin.
albill on September 16, 2008 at 3:51 PM
Sorry. I have to totally disagree with you on this one. Sure, anyone can do a crappy job at anything, but for the more difficult jobs, many skills are required and most cannot even hope to acquire them. The problem is that most people can do most jobs well 80% of the time, and this fools many into thinking that they are fine in the positions, but that last 20% is the most important of all and separates the men from the boys.
progressoverpeace on September 16, 2008 at 3:52 PM
Didn’t Carly bug the HP boardroom or something? What’s up with that?
Mr_Magoo on September 16, 2008 at 3:53 PM
Mitt Romney has never needed McCain to make him important.
BigD on September 16, 2008 at 3:55 PM
Who cares? Her daddy can whip Sarah’s daddy.
saved on September 16, 2008 at 3:56 PM
Throw Carly from the train.
My collie says:
Tell ya’ what — after he throws Carly from the train, why don’t ya’ throw Danny after her.
My collie says:
CyberCipher on September 16, 2008 at 3:59 PM
Heretic.
Considering all the crap Romney took in the primaries, his experience and expertise look awfully useful right now.
Fiorina is an ego-packin’ momma, and a repeat failure, but she is absolutely correct about the lack of executive depth in either McCain or Palin (or Biden or Oblamey). Depth which I feel will be sorely missed.
Where is this bus headed, anyway?
trailboss on September 16, 2008 at 4:01 PM
Maybe Mitt is finally tired of being used by McCain.
trailboss on September 16, 2008 at 4:04 PM
progressoverpeace on September 16, 2008 at 3:52 PM
maybe…but like a star athelte with god given talent can skate by on talent alone, a person with limited talent with hard work can maybe not beat him but can match him at times. A talaneted athelte that also works hard? Then you have a Jordan or a Phelps.
Most people with talent relie on the talent and do not put the hard work needed to become truely great. Thus most people can balance talent out with hard work. A kid that practices every day can beat a natural talant that only practices maybe once a week. that’s why underdogs are able to beat people that do not take them seriously. that’s why top seeds in the NCAA get knocked off by 16th seeds at times.
unseen on September 16, 2008 at 4:07 PM
Yup, so true. Pop and Fizz always win out over depth and breadth.
trailboss on September 16, 2008 at 4:08 PM
McSame really, really has a wild and wacky campaign staff…!
“Move over, Al Gore. You may lay claim to the Internet, but John McCain helped create the BlackBerry…
Man oh man, when it goes into the intertubes it really goes into the tubes that are the Internet…!
J_Gocht on September 16, 2008 at 4:13 PM
No, that’s why underdogs and 16th seeds rarely become champions, and certainly don’t repeat. They don’t have the depth. True and lasting ‘talent’ is hard work repeated ad nauseum and only demonstrated periodically. Experience of hard work combined with willpower is what champions are made of.
trailboss on September 16, 2008 at 4:15 PM
Carly who???
Keith_Indy on September 16, 2008 at 4:16 PM
I’m with johnt on this one. Romney is on Cavuto (fox) now.
The key is for McCain-Palin in addressing the economy is to keep hammering on low taxes and government reform… and contrast that with their opponents, two big government, big spenders. None of the candidates are economists and three of the candidates are Senators who, in theory, should have already been working on the issues that led to the banking collapses. I don’t think trading barbs on regulatory points is a winning line of attack for McCain-Palin. And, I really don’t think McCain-Palin should be running on a strong populist message.
In terms of Fiorina, she’s just another one of many surrogates. I don’t think her recent statements have done any damage.
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 4:16 PM
What’s your point?
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 4:18 PM
Carly, the reason you have all this free time is because HP decided you couldn’t do the job.
Hope McCain isn’t planning on putting Carly in the cabinet. If he intends to make her Treasury Secretary, I’d vote against him. Given that Carly was fired when her responsibility was running one company, having her in charge of the current financial system mess would be a disaster.
dedalus on September 16, 2008 at 4:23 PM
I wasn’t arguing about natural talent versus learned skills so much as saying that there are many positions that do require specific skills that most don’t have. My point about many never being able to acquire those skills was just a bit of editorializing on the side.
progressoverpeace on September 16, 2008 at 4:30 PM
Who the f%$& is Carly Fiorina, and why do we care what she says? Balancing the budget for the entire state of Alaska and controlling spending is a pretty worthy accomplishment, akin to running a large corporation.
RMCS_USN on September 16, 2008 at 4:33 PM
Palin is on Fox now at a joint rally with McCain in Ohio. She’s hammering on the simple message about taxes and job creation now. Lookin’ good!
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 4:33 PM
Can it get any worse than this…?
I’ve always thought Naval Officers ran a tight ship; today his campaign looks more like a listing, garbage, scow…!
J_Gocht on September 16, 2008 at 4:35 PM
I guess I’m asking what’s your point? What do these posts at the Huffington Post tell you about McCain’s merits as a candidate relative to Obama’s merits?
I’m trying to understand your point of view, that’s all.
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 4:37 PM
If Maverick!* wants to finish Bambi once and for all he needs to announce Sarah has convinced him on ANWR and he wants a “700 billion a year stimulus package called domestic energy production”….
sven10077 on September 16, 2008 at 4:37 PM
At HP Ms. Fiorina destroyed every cent of shareholder
value through her forced takeover of Compaq. Today, HP is Compaq – and its Unix businesses are on life support and overall sales are roughly where Compaq’s would have been now had then extant trends simply continued.
See:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Murphy/?p=909 for the 100,000 foot view of this.
What amazes me about her is that she’s with McCain, with her attitudes and beliefs about privilege I expected to see her standing with Hillary.
Paul Murphy on September 16, 2008 at 4:38 PM
I agree he should do that and continue to push on energy issues. People will be receptive to that message.
I’m not sure anything can finish O! once and for all… except maybe Hillary in a wooded area. This is a battle that could easily extend past election day if the dems continue their pattern of 2004 and their own convention.
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 4:40 PM
You think that was good..? You should have seen Barrack in Colorado earlier today.
WOW!
J_Gocht on September 16, 2008 at 4:40 PM
In regards to the statement about Romney having “a lot of baggage”, what are they? I don’t think the guy’s ever tried drugs, cheated on his wife, or was brought up on any ethics charges. The only thing anybody’s ever brought up is that he’s Mormom. That’s baggage? He’s a Republican who successfully became governor of a Blue state, was a successful leader in the private sector, and is credited with saving the 2002 Winter Olympics. The reasons he didn’t get pick by McCain are 1.) McCain doesn’t like him, 2.) McCain didn’t want a VP that could outshine him, 3.) McCain decided to match the Democrats ploy of going Affirmative Action with their presidential candidate by choosing a woman running mate. Let’s be honest here, unlike the other side.
Dagnar on September 16, 2008 at 4:42 PM
I’m not sure why you won’t respond to my questions, but I’ll stop asking.
Have a nice day.
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 4:42 PM
Yeah stammering and stumbling over his woobee known as Mr.T-prompt showing as much fluency on the economy as my 8 year old….
“looking good”
of course you judge how he looks by the audience of even more fiscally ignorant fans he has I guess.
sven10077 on September 16, 2008 at 4:45 PM
Ok, let’s be honest.
I like Mitt the key is which Mitt do I like?
The Governor of Mass. or the Candidate?
Seeing as how they have differing views on abortion, health care, guns, and taxation.
I like Mitt and am ok with Mitt.
sven10077 on September 16, 2008 at 4:47 PM
I won’t speak for jon or john, but from my standpoint Mitt was damaged as a VP prospect during the primaries because of the dynamics between him and McCain… and Huckabee. I am not assigning blame — I happen to like Romney and voted for him (as my backup to Thompson and Rudy) in the CA primaries — but I think that the animosity between Romney and McCain/Huckabee led to some pretty damaging sound bites.
In addition, and at the risk of turning this into a Huckabee flame-thread, I really believe that a small but vocal group of Mormon-bashers would have done tremendous damage to a McCain-Romney ticket in the primaries. Those folks are so blinded by their animosity toward Mormons that they would not be able to contain themselves — they’d be on CNN, MSNBC, and every night. It would do the Republican ticket no good to have those folks complaining about Romney during the general election.
Finally, I think that McCain is vulnerable on the populist attacks being rolled out by the O! campaign. Romney would not really help in that area. Palin does.
I think Romney has a real future in national politics. He handled himself with tremendous class when he dropped out. I just don’t think he’d be a good VP this year.
What do others think?
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 4:56 PM
All candidates have to move to the center to get elected. They also have to demonstrate that they can work with people across the aisle.
Question: Which McCain do you like – the candidate or the senator who gave us “McCain-Feingold” and “McCain-Kennedy”?
Dagnar on September 16, 2008 at 4:59 PM
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 4:42 PM
That’s because trolls only like to ask the questions and make statements uncontested. Yea, HP is really something after Carly finished with it. She wasn’t qualified to be a CEO at Lucent or HP and isn’t qualified to be on McCain’s staff today, let along run her mouth on nation TV.
flytier on September 16, 2008 at 4:59 PM
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 4:42 PM
That’s because trolls only like to ask the questions and make statements uncontested. Yea, HP is really something after Carly finished with it. She wasn’t qualified to be a CEO at Lucent or HP and isn’t qualified to be on McCain’s staff today, let
alongalone run her mouth on nation TV.flytier on September 16, 2008 at 4:59 PM
flytier on September 16, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Yeah. I keep expecting Manly to step in but he must be walking his golden retriever.
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 5:01 PM
The candidate who picked Sarah Palin….I don’t think Mitt has that on his resume. I am not in love with McCain I hate Bambi…the choice is no choice for me.
sven10077 on September 16, 2008 at 5:04 PM
As no one can honestly say they had heard about Palin or at least thought that she was actually on McCain’s short list for VP, let me ask you the following question:
If McCain hadn’t picked Palin, who would you have wanted him to pick as his running mate?
Dagnar on September 16, 2008 at 5:08 PM
I had heard of Palin and said back in April she owuld be a good strategic pick. Since she was who I wanted I am rather happy. The last thing we needed especially with this news is “another rich white guy”. Barring Sarah I’d like Condi.
The GOP needs to run the donk’s face in which party truly is based on merit.
sven10077 on September 16, 2008 at 5:10 PM
I’m with you. I like Romney, but there was no way he could have been picked for VP, this go ’round. Not with McCain. And the base would, by my estimate, still be fractured and demoralized. I don’t see that any pick could have been better than Palin.
progressoverpeace on September 16, 2008 at 5:10 PM
Like sven, I was also on to Palin fairly early and was hoping she’d be picked.
I also like Jindal, although I was very disappointed with how he handled the Intelligent Design issue.
If we are talking in terms of campaigning and winning, I like Rudy. I think he could overcome the scandals but think that his health issues precluded him from a McCain ticket.
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 5:18 PM
Then you must have a pretty good crystal ball, because most of us didn’t see Palin as a serious contender for VP. Don’t get me wrong – I’ll be voting McCain/Palin in Nov. I think the choice of Condi would have been a nightmare because it would have done exactly what the Dems have been unsuccessfully trying to do for some time – tie McCain to Bush.
I just hope that was the reasoning why we picked Palin and not to try to score Affirmative Action points.
Dagnar on September 16, 2008 at 5:20 PM
McCain and Palin need to get back on-message–with McCain talking about tax cuts and Government reform, and Palin talking about energy–that’s HER strong point! Romney can also help on economic issues, and could be rewarded with Secretary of the Treasury if McCain wins.
As for Carly Fiorina, she needs to take a long walk over the Bridge to Nowhere.
Steve Z on September 16, 2008 at 5:22 PM
I mulled over Condi but ultimately didn’t feel comfortable because I don’t really know what she believes in outside of foreign policy. I was disappointed in her feeling the need to congratulate O! on his “historic” campaign.
Now, if she had congratulated him on his histrionic campaign, that might change things for me.
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 5:23 PM
No crystal ball was needed. She gave a speech that blew Bambi’s 2004 speech’s doors off. She grasps the biggest challenge facing our nation, has good views on the Bill of Rights and is a minimalist on the role of government. Her selection strategically altered the experience game in a way that put Bambi on the defensive just by existing or alternatively showed how in the tank the press really is. No other potential Veep wouyld have taken the “new kid with neat-o ideas and story” shine off of Bambi like she did.
She was being asked about the job back in Feb. if you are a c-span junkie or an amatuer wonk you knew who she was and that she was in the top 5.
John gets my vote, but I’m with Sarah.
sven10077 on September 16, 2008 at 5:28 PM
The main thing I loook for is either an executive vision or foreign policy experience. Condi has the FP cred we need and is a student of the cold war. We will be in another cold war within the next 8 years.
The problem is we did not defend her from the MSM slime game Sarah is in and the ted ralls of the universe broke her heart. I also suspect she is bisexual or has been a lesbian and the media would not be quite so forgiving of her as they would if she were “Condi Rice (d)-Calif.” Once again I as an evil white republican male am FAR more laid back on the KulturKampf than our “worthy foes”.
sven10077 on September 16, 2008 at 5:31 PM
Not even Carly could do Carly’s job at HP.
Sumrica on September 16, 2008 at 5:32 PM
Do even Obama’s fanboys seriously think he could run a company? He couldn’t even be a lawyer and he suppossedly had training for that!
Speedwagon82 on September 16, 2008 at 5:35 PM
Exactly. Or put another way, I’m thinking Carly couldn’t do Palin’s job (or shoot a moose).
pussum207 on September 16, 2008 at 5:38 PM
Was Romney your pick for the top spot?
I’ve been reading HA for a couple of months now and I’m not sure I can remember anyone for whom McCain was their top choice. It’s not revealing any secrets to say that he got the nomination by being the last man standing.
Rudy and Fred made strategic errors in how they ran their campaigns, so they dropped out much earlier than I thought they would have. Huckabee ran with a lot of fire in his belly, although I think he had neither the accomplishments nor the broad appeal to win. I’m not sure what happened to Romney (aside from the Huckabee factor), but having lived in Massachusetts at one point, I can see how a governor of such a liberal state would have a hard time firing up hard-core conservatives. There’s no way he could govern as a hard-line conservative and get things accomplished with the state legisture he had.
So we wound up with a guy who many of us accept for what he is — a guy who has served his country all his life and who does put Country First, even if he is often misguided in how he tries to do that. The VP selection is an attempt to overcome negatives — his health, his age, his misguided trust of democrats, and his long tenure in the Senate.
I think Palin helps on a lot of those fronts. The fact that she’s a woman who has accomplished so much while maintaining a lot of core conservative values is just a plus.
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 5:42 PM
While, apparently the talk with her back in Feb. couldn’t have been too serious and she didn’t even know she was in the Top 5 if she was “dissing” the job just last month:
Reference
I also never heard any network speculating that she was in the Top 5 (they did have Liebermann, however). Again, I think most people (yourself excluded) didn’t really see this choice coming.
Dagnar on September 16, 2008 at 5:44 PM
In answer to your question, yes, Romney was actually my pick for the top post. But after McCain won the nomination (and after some admitted grumbling), I reluctantly backed McCain. I admire a good number of things about Palin. I just want to ensure that we’re picking a VP candidate for all of the right reasons and not just to set up a competing lemonade stand with the Dems. :)
Dagnar on September 16, 2008 at 5:48 PM
She was NOT “dissing the job” she was expressing her desire, like Bobby Jindal to not give up her own office to be mere window dressing. For her to even seriously be mentioned meant she was taken seriously. I put it at 1)Huck 2) Fred 3)Lieberman 4)Pawlenty 5) Palin/Jindal….
YMMV
sven10077 on September 16, 2008 at 5:50 PM
Oh, c’mon.
20 seconds of each response; even voters (heh) will get that this is highly selective, “unfair” editing.
mockmook on September 16, 2008 at 5:52 PM
the reality is she is a VP candidate and if there is a touch of lemonade but it gets us power who gives a damn.
I’d rather win than lose nobly.
sven10077 on September 16, 2008 at 5:52 PM
Yes, she is great in those areas — probably better than McCain.
My concern is that since McCain is not the strongest conservative on domestic issues, he needs a real conservative as his VP.
Do you think Condi is conservative on domestic issues? She seems to be more of a real conservative than Powell (I think he was mostly an opportunist in terms of his political allegiances), but I just don’t know what she brings on domestic issues.
Y-not on September 16, 2008 at 6:13 PM
Carly Fiorina: Palin couldn’t have done my job — and neither could Obama; Update: Neither could McCain, adds Fiorina
Neither could Fiorina, who cut the value of HP in half and incurred massive layoffs before she was fired.
Tantor on September 16, 2008 at 6:17 PM
Coherence should be a minimum requirement for posting comments on blogs.
Entelechy on September 16, 2008 at 6:24 PM
Steveo, that makes good sense to me.
Except that…
6.1% unemployment, highest in six years
600,000 and counting; jobs lost this year
6000 homes being foreclosed on daily
The automobile companies begging for bailouts
The financial and banking system in total shambles
Except… that only 3.4% comes from Alaska
Or righty then…!
J_Gocht on September 16, 2008 at 6:34 PM
I can’t find the exact quote right now, but I believe McCain was talking about American work ethic and productivity. American productivity is rising, despite weakness in other areas. This can explain why the GDP continues to grow despite payroll cuts. In other words, what McCain said was correct. It’s not the whole story, but it’s correct.
viking999 on September 16, 2008 at 6:43 PM
Neither could Obama;
Neither could Biden
adds Fiorina.
.
AP, Listen to the entire comment , she leaves no one out.
Says running the country is nothing like running a company.
.
Nice job , allah, you huffpo’d this one.
shooter on September 16, 2008 at 6:52 PM
20% is an average and it includes oil and natural gas. It is old data (1980-2000). Currently Alaska provides nearly 15%.
It is the same tactic the slimy baby murderer Obama uses. So spare us the outrage. Given the two, Palin respects life. That gives her a major edge in moral fortitude.
csdeven on September 16, 2008 at 6:53 PM
I was energetically wrong also; it’s only 2.4%…!
It would appear Johnny Mc has been out in the woods on this too!
J_Gocht on September 16, 2008 at 7:13 PM
Shep Smith just played the whole clip before it was edited to make it look like an attack on McCain. The full clip has her saying, “I don’t think Barack Obama could run a major corporation, I don’t think Joe Biden could run a major corporation.
Buy Danish on September 16, 2008 at 7:20 PM
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