Carly Fiorina raises a caveat about Sarah Palin (then notes it applies to others)

Key John McCain advisor Carly Fiorina gave an honest answer on a radio show today when asked about Sarah Palin -- and immediately saw it characterized on the Huffington Post as a gaffe (which, in the astute observation by journalist Michael Kinsley, is so often the noun used when a politician actually tells the truth).

Fiorina has since expanded on her comment during an appearance on MSNBC -- and provided a response that rings even truer.

Fiorina, the one-time head of Hewlett-Packard, was touting Palin's credentials on a St. Louis station when her questioner asked whether she thought the Republican vice presidential nominee had the experience to run a major company such as her former employer.

"No, I don't," Fiorina said. "But you know what? That's not what she's running for."

Boom! Words that bloggers could go to town with.

Later, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell asked Fiorina about her remark. Fiorina stood by it, but also said that her opinion applied to McCain, Barack Obama and Joe Biden as well.

She added: "It is a fallacy to suggest the country is like a company."

Given what's happening to so many seeming mainstays on Wall Street, that's a very, very good thing.

Addendum: Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor couldn't resist issuing the following statement:

If John McCain’s top economic advisor doesn’t think he can run a corporation, how on Earth can he run the largest economy in the world in the midst of a financial crisis? Apparently even the people who run his campaign agree that the economy is an issue John McCain doesn’t understand as well as he should.

We remained heartened, rather than dismayed, by Fiorina's distinction between politicians and business executives.

-- Don Frederick

Photo credit: Associated Press

Comments

[anonymous]

Palin couldn't even run a car wash! And Carly thinks she's okay as VP for a nation of 300 million. Wow.

[Joe]

Sorry, but didn't Carly Fiorina get canned from running HP? What does she know about running a successful company? She's McCain's economic advisor?

[Darrel Fontenot]

Carly Fiorina managed to PIONEER the outsourcing of thousands of americans JOBS to INDIA when she ran H.P., and crashed the companies` stock value to worthless,.....THEN she was given an extravagant ``golden parachute`` of million of bucks to GO AWAY,

...after she had destroyed thousands of american workers jobs and crashed the value of one of americas most profitable corporations... the fact that Obama is not doing commericial after commericial portraying Fiorina with McCain as she utters her famous line, ``NO JOBS ARE AMERICANS GOD GIVEN RIGHT ANYMORE``, shows why Obama is an incompetent who desesrves to lose.

The fact that McCain publicly associates with this job-exporting shrew shows that he knows the corporate media has been leashed and silenced to ensure that joe six-pack concentrates on the NFL and never gets to know the history of Carly the job exporter, McCains best friend.

Stop the country please, I want to get off. Carly Fiorina LECTURING on who is qualified to run a company is like Ken Lay holding seminars to show other corporate Offal how they can end up just like ENRON of they follow his failed example. Carly is a huge failure who keeps selling out others to keep getting rewarded, and the media has been gagged.

[seriousfun]

Carly Fiorina was fired by HP for her lack of leadership and management skills. Her policy of merger and acquisition, then layoff the leftovers, inspired the market to value HP at half what it was before Fiorina.

I suppose it would take a bad leader to know a bad leader!

And remember, George W. Bush was elected as the CEO president (Fiorina might be right here, McC, Obama, Palin, and Biden all have thankfully different skill sets than your average CEO) can we risk another?

[Orn R. Critter]

OK, so my comments were not yet written down when someone else (not Carly) took the words from my keyboard:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-oped0915nepollittsep15,0,1615842.story

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2008/09/22/080922taco_talk_coll

There's always 2012, right Hillary?

[Lexi]

Carly Fiorina is correct. None of the 4 candidates could run a major company. I'm sure Carly would be the first to admit that she couldn't run a law firm either--because she's not a lawyer.

Her comment belabors the obvious. She was right to point out, however, that only McCain and Palin have the necessary Executive experience to run a government.

Duh.

[Bruce]

Hell hath no fury like a former potential VP candidate scorned! Not sure if the bloom is off the rose already, but lots of Repubs with brains and honesty are either holding their noses or not doing well hiding their scorn: Will, Krauthammer, Kondrake, Rice, Fiorina, etc.

[Honey Rogers]

I am astounded at the polls. American have not had enough of trickle down economics. The world is looking at us and merely because we are still a racist nation we will vote for a very sick and weak man, McBush. He'll do anything to win even sell us out to a hockey mom not qualified to run a small shoe store. Where is John McCain. You Republicans speak up, you know he doesn't have the temperment to lead nor does his beauty queen. Remember, silent Republicans in congress and the senate, he will have your families lifefin his hands and you were the coward that stayed quiet for your "party's sake". This man was tortured for years, he never was as great as his father and grand father, he always says I don't like to talk about being a POW as he begins to tell us the story time and time again. Veterans are disturbed by how he's using that same old story. He's not qualified to lead the free world of 2008, maybe he was during the Johnson period. His time has pasted.
McBush and Palin are very dangerous. Let them create a new party for the very far religious right and move them to Alaska and they live happy ever after.
America, eight years is quite enough, it is the Democrats that can get us out of this mess. The Republicans have never been a party of "fit it", they's the party of try it and leave it. McBush is out of touch for the working class and no moose shooting beauty queen can fix that. Who is the candidate Palin? Is he afraid to campaign alone because no one will show up. The campaign is a complete embarassment to our country. Please Ohio, Pennsyvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Floriada and Indiana wake up. Barack hs a plan. He has an eonomic team that knows how to get us out of this mess. Think about it McBush doesn't have a heavy shooters on the economics on his side. That's why he's talking about putting Dem on his cabinet because he knows it was he and his friends that sank this economy and continues to lose jobs. Florida, you gave us Bush, please, please wake up and vote to correct the eight years of Bush. Vote Obama, there isn't another choice.

[Honey Rogers]

Barack, zoom in on the McBush economic plan. It's creator, Carly and Phil. Keating 5?

[sd]

Please tell me what are the qualification of a leader?
Success or failure of any given decision will lead to a group
of winners and a group of lossers.

Early today Steve pointed out:
Top 10 US bankruptcies:

1) Lehman 2008
2) Worlcom 2002
3) Enron 2001
4) Conseco 2002
5) Texaco 1989
6) Financial Corp of America 1988
7) Refco 2005
8) Global Crossing 2002
9) Pacific Gas & Elec 2001
10) UAL 2002

What's in common?

Republican Administration

Apparently many of the CEO's running USA major multilaterial corporation are un-qualified
if bankrupcy is an indication of failed management.

Ho! yeah major companies lack the ability to print money like the federal government

Where did all the Billions of dollars go prior to the bankrupcy? Were these companies
victims of shortsided failed market strategies which lead to bad investments,
over zealous regulators, common greed/corruption. Just think about Ken Lay's ERON and
Charles Keating's Lincoln Savings and Loan Association both were a house of cards.

This is a moral spritual universe good management will prevail over bad management.
GOOD does conquer Evil and "TRUTH crushed to earth will rise again" .
But maybe not in my life time.

Remember major companies lack the ability to print money like the federal government,
BUT what are Junk Bonds and Derivatives? Where does all the money go?

"Fiorina, the one-time head of Hewlett-Packard, was ....asked whether she thought
the Republican vice presidential nominee had the experience to run a major company"

As I recall during Florina's tenure at HP, she fought to take over Compaq Computer, ran a
domestic spying program (limited to key investors) this program went the way of WaterGate.

Oh well, Florina if you had greater appeal to the "born again christian" and the Republician base you
would have been picked for the VP spot. You certainly have the experience. Florina 2012.

[rush limpbizkit]

Palin's "execute experience" wouldn't make her group leader at HP. Obama had more executive experience at age 28 running the Harvard Law Review than Plain had in her years as small-town mayor. Obama you could wake up at 3am and quiz on details of the Middle East conflict. From Palin you get a blank stare when asked about the "Bush Doctrine". Palin for Veep is like making the heckler behind home plate general manager. Arrogant, belligerent, clueless. And who's the guy running for President again? Mr. GETOFFMYLAWN? What a joke.

[edge770]

Carly was the WORSE CEO EVER for a tech company outside of John Scully of Apple. I support McCain/Palin.. but the uppity mark of her comments shows how dumb SHE really is (Fiorina) I would NEVER trust her to run my startup. Passion, knowledge, grit and perserverance are far critical than using MBA speak to a bunch of dolts. Wasn't members of her staff investigated for wire tapping board members communications..?

[Independent Country Boy]

How in the world could a supposed professional business person like this make open end statements in a political campaign that are ripe for the picking. These sound bites will be heard around the world not to mention the print media. As a McCain/Palin campaign spokesperson I'm sure her intentions were good but this was a huge mistake.

[EveryWord]

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 was to *look* like I was maintaining my composure."

[Tim K]

Obama isn't qualified to run anything, except running his mouth or running away. Obama didn't earn his way into harvard. His family stated that he was a poor student in high school and college. He's a quota boy - admitted to harvard based only on the color of his skin. Harvard used to be respectable. Harvard has become a joke.

[vrob125]

I like Carly. Unlike Sarah Palin, she tells the truth. How refreshing!