Carla Fiorina's mouth, meet Carly Fiorina's brain

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina's gift of glib gab backfired on her Tuesday when she became too candid for her own political good.

Fiorina, an economic adviser to Sen. John McCain, was asked on KTRS Radio whether she thinks Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has the experience "to run a major company like Hewlett-Packard."

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

So she doesn't have the chops to run a company but can handle the role of president of the United States? I wonder what Palin's handlers think about that one.

Back in the day, when Fiorina was running HP, her PR meisters would have blanched at some such unscripted response. I've interviewed Fiorina several times over the years and found her to be on message all of the time--sometimes unnervingly so.

But now that she's on a different stage, Fiorina finds herself the object of intense media scrutiny over her inability to stop flapping her gums. Asked to clarify her remarks later, during an appearance with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Fiorina had this to say:

"Well, I don't think John McCain could run a major corporation. I don't think Barack Obama could run a major corporation. I don't think that Joe Biden could run a major corporation. But on the other hand, a major corporation is not the same as being the president or the vice president of the United States. It is a fallacy to suggest that the country is like a company."

She would know," quipped MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. "She got fired for running that company."

Bada boom!

[MaLvaDo39]

Olbermann shouldn't say too much, he just lost his evening anchor spot for being so liberally slanted and couldn't control himself.

[The_Decider]

Funny how intelligent, passionate people are "liberals".

[als]

A vote for McCain is a vote for Fiorina and a nice cushy job in McCain's administration. She ruined HP, and I'm sure she can ruin the Treasury department too.

[gkeramidas]

hopefully that idiot olbermann won't be far behind. and he's one to talk about being fired!

[HlLLARY CLITON]

was Olbermann ever a community organizer?

[hailstorm-harry]

So if being a CEO of a corporation has little in common with running a country, then what the hell is Fiorinia doing as McCain's ECONOMIC advisor??

[connect_the_dots]

Good point!

[lightningrob]

Charles, what's your point? Fiorina's statement is entirely correct. Corporate CEO and US President are completely different jobs with completely different skill sets. Most CEO's don't have the political experience to be president, and vice versa.

[masonx]

It's only different if don't intend to run a solvent entity. In reality any government is an economic entity just like any corporation. If you listened to your Bud Bush you would know he thinks the entire gov. should be incorporated as part of the private sector - except for the Presidency where he could be fired like the presidents of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... that he appointed.

[The_Decider]

Even the demon Rove said Governors don't have the experience. Of course this was talking about a potential democratic running mate, he quickly changed his tune.

Palin has less experience and even less brains than Bush and look what he did. Damage, Inc.

[gettyleigh]

your argument doesn't hoild water . . . as over 1/3 of our presidents have been governors first including Jefferson . . . being that he partook in the creation of and signing of the Declaration of Independence, I'd say he had a pretty good grasp on what was going on. Do your homework before you make an argument, as people like me love making democrats look silly.

In the early years of the US, the following presidents were governors first:

Thomas Jefferson: the first president to hold the position of governor, served as Virginia?s governor from 1779-1781 James Monroe: served as Governor of Virginia from 1799-1802, and again served for a brief period as the 16th Governor of Virginia from January through April in 1811. John Tyler: another Governor of Virginia, serving from 1825-1827

Following governors from Virginia, other presidents were governors first from a variety of other states:

Martin Van Buren: Governor of New York in 1829 James Polk: Governor of Tennessee, serving from 1839-1841 Andrew Johnson: Governor of Tennessee from 1853-1857 and then appointed by Lincoln to serve as military governor of Tennessee from 1862-1864 Rutherford Hayes: Governor of Ohio from 1868-1872 and again from 1876-1877 Grover Cleveland: Governor of New York from 1883-1885 William McKinley: Governor of Ohio from 1892-1896
Numerous presidents were governors first in the 20th century. The list begins with Theodore Roosevelt, first Governor of New York from 1899-1901. Others on this list are:

Woodrow Wilson: Governor of New Jersey from 1911-1913 Calvin Coolidge: Governor of Massachusetts from 1919-1921 Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Governor of New York from 1929-1933 Ronald Reagan: Governor of California from 1967-1975 Jimmy Carter: Governor of Georgia from 1971-1975, and the first elected governor from the South post Civil War Bill Clinton: Governor of Arkansas for two separate terms, from 1979-1981, and from 1983-1992 George W. Bush: Governor of Texas from 1995-2000.

partial quotes really seem to help make this the story which its not.

[dancoleman12345]

Fiorina is only doing a Broadway show ! Can't take her seriously ! Too bad !
Everyone knows that she eventually will be fired from HP.
Too much lips and not a whole lot of action !
Pitty !

[gettyleigh]

considering she no longer works there anymore, maybe you ought to pull your head out of your outhouse before you make any more comments. reading the article might help you a bit as well.

[2QT4ME]

She was fired long time ago! HP had to get her out. She was poison

[HiroHyoto]

Yes... olbermann is such an idiot - that's why his ratings continue to skyrocket - I just want to make sure the people that read this article understand that the conservative opinion isn't the only thing that exists out there... they usually are just the only ones that care enough to spew the lies and deceit. Gallup polls tightening - debates coming up... I can't wait.

If people did their research about Olbermann getting off the election coverage... he was part of that decision and agreed it was what is best.

Don't people see that his partisanship isn't that much different than Bill O' Reilly/Sean Hannity/Rush Limbaugh.... but thankfully they aren't covering the election or they'd likely be pulled.

I love how partisans can twist truths to bolster their own opinions... that is why Barack's message is to leave partisanship at the door and let's all work together.

I care about the economy and the middle class - that's why I'm not voting Palin/McCain '08.

I care about a CEO of any company thinking a presidential or vice presidential hopeful can't run a country...

I run an insurance appraisal business and I wouldn't let them near my business either - I don't need it to be run by lobbyists like the McCain campaign... wake up repugs!

~David

[gettyleigh]

Sadly, the people of the Obama Temple have become comfortable with the practice of demagoguery. For, Obama is the sort of political leader who gains power by appealing to people's emotions, instincts, and prejudices in a way that is manipulative and dangerous; preying on the naiveté of the younger generation and the lack of insight of those who should know better but don?t, is Obama?s strategy to attract voters. Change is not necessarily always a good thing, especially when it administers the medicine of socialism. Thomas Sowell, a distinguished authority on economics, once said ?socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it." Obama?s, unquestioned flattery and praise, is evocative of another socialistic demagogue, he is just as mesmerizing as Jim Jones, who dazzled the members of the ?Peoples Temple? in 1978 at a little place called Jonestown, Guyana; the revolution they experienced there was ?revolutionary suicide.? If the Obamabots keep on drinking the ?flavor aid,? spiked by this spellbinding ?cult of personality,? the freedoms and protections we all cherish so much, will go the way of the 909 people who committed suicide with the cyanide laced grape drink; our liberties will be just like the spirit of those people, and the essence of the 276 children among them. The fundamental nature of our liberties will vanish into the thin air, just as the prototypical souls of those who deified the false idol of the ?People?s Temple? 30 years ago. Socialism, at the national level, is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. In the end when all is equal, and socialism fails and the coffers are bare, who will the poor and misfortunate people lean on then?


"If you?re 20 and not a Liberal, You have no Heart. If you are 40 and not a Conservative, You have no Brain" Sir Winston Churchill

[gettyleigh]

lbermann ought to consider paying his taxes on time before he starts casting judgments. The only thing that guy knows how to run is his mouth.

Deadbeat Olbermann Fails to Pay New York Taxes, State Issues Warrant

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New York State has issued a tax warrant against Keith Olbermann for failure to pay taxes on his humbly named personal corporation, Olbermann Broadcasting Empire, Inc. Olbermann is listed in legal records as the President of Olbermann Broadcasting Empire, Inc.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A call to the Albany County Clerk's Office in upstate New York confirmed that the warrant is still outstanding and that Olbermann has still failed to pay his back taxes. State records show that Olbermann's company failed to pay $2,269.50 in state taxes. A judgement was entered against Olbermann last summer (Docket Date: 8/21/2007), just weeks before Olbermann closed on a a luxurious $4.2 mm condo at Trump Palace, at 200 East 69th Street.

[dnheller]

If I recall, she was an executive at Lucent when it was going down the drain, and she pushed through a less than wonderful merger as CEO at HP, for which the board forced her out. Yeah, she's qualified to be be on a ticket. NOT. She might know how to read a balance sheet, but she knows nothing of leadership.

[connect_the_dots]

They are just running with their silly idea that Palin is the only one with "executive" experience. This is just a slightly different tack. Makes no sense and shows why she didn't do well with HP. Other McCain advisors are Meg Whitman, who did a terrible job at eBay, and Phil Gramm who repealed the Glass-Steagall Act which facilitated our current economic disaster. Then he has the nerve to call the people he hurt "whiners." McCain does not make good choices in the people who surround him.

[skillingssucks]

Well now she has something in common with Palin because she couldn't run HP either.

[Spectre1979]

Wow, yet another media moron taking someone's comments out of context and distorting them in order to serve their own agenda.

How about you pretend to be a real journalist for a second and actually report her full quote? Y'know, like where she says that Obama is also not qualified to run a corporation. She was making a broader point that is actually very accurate.

Charles Cooper, meet real journalism. I'm quite sure that this is your first encounter.

[edtechlab]

Fiorina gave an honest response to the question. She doesn't have a high estimation of any candidate in regards to running a major company. McCain himself says he has little knowledge about the economy. Bush said the same and see what we got, faith only in the market and lack of responsible oversight. I think it is time for a new team. We know it can't do any worse than the Republican party, which controlled the show even in Congress until a couple of years ago. I think a Democrat will be good for business in general.

[Thomas, David]

Are you fracking serious!??<br><br>The writer has illustrated a complete disconnect!

[msjimmied]

Sometimes you just blurt out the truth. I cannot understand why she is shilling for the republicans, they picked someone from the steno pool with great legs over her and Meg of Ebay. The republicans don't want substance, just someone to get your attention who can do whatever it takes to get elected. Leave integrity at the door. What was Carly and Meg thinking? That this was their big chance to enter politics? Gals, you picked the wrong damn horse.

[fj_III]

Face it, it's true Palin is not qualified to run a corporation. There is no way HP or any other Fortune 500 company would hire her for any senior management position accept maybe spokesperson. It's also true none of the other candidates would be ideally qualified either, including Fiorina who laid off tens of thousands of HP workers, before she was finally fired. Those workers she did not care about did not have the luxury of leaving their jobs with twenty million dollars "+" (total compensation approx 40 million) that Fiorina walked away with. Twenty million dollars is enough to have given 2,000 employees 10,000 dollars each that they needed a lot more than she did. I have never worked for HP, but it was once a company that prided itself for putting its employees first. Then Fiorina a Republican came along and trashed HP's principals and the lives of its employees. That is the kind of person John McCain values for advice, and that is the kind of "change" white and blue collar workers can look forward to, if enough American voters fall for another Republican snow job.

[philpacker]

Carla should know precisely what it takes to run a big company. Precisely what she lacks and demonstrated so when she accomplished absolutely zero in a 6 year run as CEO. Strike that, she arguably, achieved the single greatest set back for female executives in history. Now she can do the same for the US government. Way to go.