Carly Fiorina touts McCain's tech credentials

UPDATED 3:35 P.M.: The Christian Science Monitor, which hosted today's press breakfast with Carly Fiorina, just posted some edited video of the event. Here's the link.

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When it comes to presidential politics, Barack Obama has all the buzz on the Internet. He has raised record amounts of money online. He hired a Facebook co-founder to help leverage social networking for his White House push. And just today, Nielsen Online declared that the Illinois Democrat had an online "head start" (PDF download) on his Republican opponent, John McCain. Obama drew nearly twice as many blog mentions in June, and his website attracted 2.3 million unique visitors in May, compared with 563,000 for McCain's.

But although McCain admitted to TechCrunch's Michael Arrington that he was computer illiterate, the Arizona senator has a big name making the case that he's the right choice for the high-tech industry: former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina.

McCain knows the importance of technology to the economy and has an economic plan to encourage the type of innovation the industry thrives on, Fiorina said this morning in Washington, D.C. "That's why I think he has been so consistently on the side of issues that impact our innovative capability," she said. "He has consistently said we should make the R&D tax credit permanent.... He has consistently said we should ban permanently Internet taxation."

Fiorina was touting McCain's new economic program during a breakfast with journalists sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. She has become such an ardent and visible supporter of McCain that her name has appeared frequently on the list of McCain's possible vice presidential choices. While that may be a long shot given her lack of government experience, others have talked up Fiorina as a potential Commerce secretary should McCain win the presidency.

Reporters couldn't let Fiorina go without pressing her on the veep question ...

... asking her if a business person who has never held elective office or a government post would be an appropriate choice to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. 

Fiorina showed that she's getting the hang of the politics game. She artfully sidestepped the question of any future role for herself at the top of the Republican ticket ("John McCain's going to have a lot of highly qualified people to choose from," she said.) while at the same time making a subtle case for herself. Fiorina cited the governmental experience she has gained since leaving HP in 2005, including co-chairing a women's initiative (PDF download) at the State Department and serving on the external advisory board for the Central Intelligence Agency.

As for the relationship between business and government, Fiorina said they're closer than people think. She said:

I would certainly not consider myself an expert on government, but what I can tell you is that all aspects of the federal government reach out to business people.... Because there are some common elements in organizational challenges, there are some common elements in how you bring people together to make them more efficient and effective. And, yes, I think there are things that government can learn and borrow from business.

I asked her about McCain's opposition to so-called network neutrality, proposed government rules that would prohibit Internet service providers from charging websites for faster delivery of their content. McCain is on the side of the cable and phone companies, which argue that the rules would squelch investment in new broadband networks. Obama has been a big supporter of net neutrality, a huge issue among online activists that adds to his Internet buzz factor, leading some (OK, it was us) to ask if Obama is a Mac and McCain a PC.

Fiorina said McCain understands the importance of the Internet and sees government-mandated net neutrality as a hindrance.

There's no question that it is to our economy's benefit to have more Internet access, more broadband capability, to have this country more wired, so to speak, as we move forward.... I think John McCain understands the way to get that done effectively is by principally allowing business to get it done as opposed to a big government-mandated program. And business won't get it done unless they see sufficient return on their investment.

Arrington endorsed McCain in January as the best Republican tech candidate (Obama got the Democratic nod). Arrington, whose political clout in Silicon Valley we recently profiled, said McCain had the right views on many technology issues, and "has surrounded himself with enough technically savvy individuals" to avoid mistakes.

Fiorina is clearly one of them. And she may remain at his side, in one way or another, if he wins the White House.

-- Jim Puzzanghera

Puzzanghera, a Times staff writer, covers tech and media policy from Washington, D.C.

Photo: John McCain and Carly Fiorina at a campaign event in Michigan in January.

Credit: Charles Dharapak / Associated Press

Comments

[COL. [retd] A. M.Khajawall MD]

Dear American Voters, reporters, media. professionals, political parties, and our hon. Presidential Nominees,


Subject: Presidential Temperament

Please talk about and "Compare And Contrast" the " Presidential Temperament" of our Presidential presumptive nominees. I will also request and plead to the nominees themselves [ Hon. Senator McCain and Obama ].
Our nation has been applying this yard and stick tor the appointments and confirmation process of our Supreme Court Justices nominees.
Our Greatgrand Nation Foundations are as under:
Family, friends, fellows, faith, funds, fun, with fairness & freedom And without fear, favor, and failure.
It will be disgrace and shameful if the nominees and media will not look into this critical and crucial aspect under current challenging times and circumstances within our country and all around the Globe.

America wake up and the discuss the " Presidential Temperament" of our presumptive presidential nominee's [ Hon. Senator McCain and Obama].

Yours sincerely,
COL. A.M.Khajawall [Ret].
Disabled American Veteran
Forensic psychiatrist, Las Vegas, Nevada

PS: Tech may nor be any one's suit but temper is ?

[Joel]

Having Carly Fiorina boosting your tech credentials is like having Pacman Jones boost your NFL cred.

[Bert]

This is one reason that I won't vote for John McCain. He has "Carly" working for him. If she did what she did for the country what she did for HP, we are in trouble.

[Albert Bodenhamer]

Who's going to vouch for Carly Fiorina's tech credentials? Her big claim to fame is nearly destroying HP while she was CEO. She's hardly someone I would consider tech savvy.

Dear Mr. Senator McCain,

If you really think about the Presidency, please take a look at what Carly Fiorina had done to HP.

[Bsd4083]

Dear Senator McCain this woman herself has a record of ethical issues..

She will not help your campaign..and association with her taints your campaign.

DUMP HER............. there are better choices out there

[Grindio]

Vote for the elderly computer illiterate candidate against the young one who revolutionized how a candidacy is funded by adept use of the internet. Base that vote on the sayso of the CEO who was ousted for having her company left behind by competitors, much to the relief of shareholders and Wall Street.

Check.

[joey]

So...the failed ex-CEO of a huge corporation is backing McCain, and this somehow makes him more 'tech-savy'? Could it be more obvious that McCain does not have his finger on the pulse of America?

[Sally White]

Obama has certainly taken the lead and McCain is going to have a hard time following up. Both have a race ahead surely but I still believe in Obama and his strategic plans to win the elections has been more sophisticated than anything we've seen from the Repubs. I am sure he'll be the one who is able to pull out smoothly from Iraq. Obama supporters, please visit WhyObama08.org!

[Gary]

"Her big claim to fame is nearly destroying HP while she was CEO"

Where did you come up with that????? HP kicked butt after she left, if you know anything about big business, you eat the cake a couple of years after it comes out of the oven.

[Alan Weinberger]

Politics is not business. Carly never recognized that small business-specifically the independent computer solution provider creates the greatest value in terms of the value IT creates for our population acording to the Commerce Department. Discussions on what is best only for big business is so blind as to be ignorant on how the IT industry really works.

[Alan Weinberger]

Politics is not business. Carly never recognized that small business-specifically the independent computer solution provider creates the greatest value in terms of the value IT creates for our population acording to the Commerce Department. Discussions on what is best only for big business is so blind as to be ignorant on how the IT industry really works.

[Michael]

lol, she failed at everything except lining her own pockets, no wonder shes a Republican!

[hpiz4luvrs]

Carly Fiorina doesn't have a clue. She ran Lucent straight into the ground before she took on HP and ALMOST ruined that company as well. What an idiot's endorsement for an idiot's campaign.

[Excuse me?]

What tech credentials? Mccain doesn't even use email.

[jp]

Great photo. Your caption should read:

McCain thoughts as Fiorina speaks... "I hope soemone can explain to me what the hell she's talking about."

[Tom]

Take the word of a disgraced CEO who ran her company into the ground and was essentially fired? I think not.

The doctrine of Net neutrality is critical to the freedom of communications on the Internet. Otherwise, it would get split up into corporate fiefdoms using bandwidth to war with each other. The lack of foresight on the parts of both McCain and Fiorina do not surprise me in the least. Neither of them understand technology.

[Kurt Cant]

Carly Fiorina is the epitome of what's wrong with corporate America. She ran HP into the ground, and then got a $21 million severance package from her friends on the board when investors demanded that she be fired. People like her make me sick. Now that she has a nice golden parachute and doesn't have to work for a living, she's trying to go into politics. For shame.

[JJ]

Good reasons not to vote for McCain. He's got all the "titans" of business working with him. Carly Fiorina, there's someone I'd want to vouch for. Oh, and let's not forget Meg Whitman! Whose next? John Donohoe?

[John]

All one needs to do is research how Carley did in charge of HP. Use of the jet for travel, realationships with the BOD (bring people together - lol!!!) and how she treated the employees plus her bonus for getting canned. Mealy mouthed is her proper description.

[DCX2]

Allow me to add to the small chorus of individuals who laugh at the idea of Carly Fiorina boosting McCain's tech credentials.

At least it would be consistent, though. Neither of them have much respect for the law or privacy, as can be seen with Fiorina's pretexting fiasco and McCain's support of the warrantless surveillance bill.

[Phil G]

Carly Fiorina's education: philosophy, history, business school. The only things she thinks she knows about technology come from the dumbed-down-for-the-beancounters briefs given by the scientists and engineers who actually made the products at Lucent and Hewlett-Packard.

She couldn't build a ham radio, program an embedded processor, or wire an op amp integrator -- she's a fraud.

[David]

Says it all about McCain--Fiorina touts his tech credentials. She did to HP what Bush did to the US--damn near ran it into the ground. Proof again that great war heroes don't always make great Presidential candidates.

[EM]

Carly Fiorina is the reason why I won't even consider voting for McCain this November.

This is the woman who almost ruined Hewlett-Packard during her tenure as CEO.

McCain faithful must be on top of things becacause her Wikipedia entry has been changed within the last month to remove any facts that the American people might consider negative.

Really, do we need an economic advisor that nearly put a tech titan out of business?

[Company Man]

I lived through Carly's tenure at HP.

I don't know if Mark Hurd was referring to her specifically when he said "Vision without execution is just hallucination", but that pretty much sums up her leadership. All message and no product(s).

She'd fit right in in Washington.