Meg Whitman, governor of California? Maybe

Caption: Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman speaks to delegates at Republican convention last year.

(Credit: Declan McCullagh/CNET)

Meg Whitman has been talked about as long ago as March 2008 as a candidate for governor of California. Now there's more evidence the former eBay CEO will actually run.

The latest news that's fueling speculation is that Whitman, 52, resigned from the boards of eBay, Procter & Gamble, and Dreamworks SKG. Her spokesman said Monday that the resignation was for personal reasons, and carefully did not confirm--or deny--any gubernatorial ambitions.

Whitman had become an adviser to Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, and enthusiastically endorsed him during the party's convention in St. Paul, Minn., last year. Whitman's message at the time: "Higher taxes encourage wasteful spending, demonstrate government's inability to choose among competing priorities, and destroy your prosperity."

That positions the billionaire executive as one of the better-known, albeit politically untested, Republican candidates who could succeed outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010. He's scheduled to be retired by term limits.

Possible primary rivals include State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, another Silicon Valley exec who already holds a statewide office. He founded SnapTrack, a cell phone locating company, and sold it to Qualcomm for $1 billion in January 2000, and also worked in the Bush administration's National Security Council. Another GOP rival could be Tom Campbell, a former U.S. congressman and dean of the business school at University of California, Berkeley.

Democrats that could be contenders in the general election include Attorney General Jerry Brown, who was already governor 30 years ago, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. So is current U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, assuming she's not entirely satisfied by her new job as head of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee.

[Hep Cat]

Yeah. In her dreams. She never bothered to vote on anything in her adult life until she got involved in politics as a CEO, and her track record at eBay doesn't exactly recommend her when it comes to spending other people's money. She's a two-faced bigot, too - did I mention her support of Prop 8 despite her earlier "support" for eBay's same-sex partner programs.

Steve Schmidt should have told her that being Governor of California is a lot tougher than riding eBay's success to the top. Arnold's made a huge mess of the state; the last thing we need is another celebrity Republican - especially one who seems to be a hard right bigot in sheep's clothing.

[codynews]

Didn't know that supporting prop 8 made someone a bigot. That's quite a charge against over 1/2 the people in the state and a huge majority of blacks.

Supporting same sex partner programs at a company is a lot different than supporting gay marriage.

[skillingssucks]

A huge majority of people once supported segregation...did that make them bigots? Yes, it did. Go get yourself a clue.

[sanenazok]

I like the slate of potential democrat candidates: mayor, mayor, senator. In other words, nothin' but career politicians. Does anybody want that? I would take someone that's run a business over some petty bureaucrat any day.

[Earl Benzar]

I wouldn't vote for Meg Whitman. She's slightly more competent that Fiorina, which isn't saying much.

[Xtoo]

We don't need another republican running our country nor our state. Period.

[LuvThatCO2]

CA is in such a financial mess that they need someone like Meg Whitman, and experienced business person and executive, to clean it up. The last thing this state needs is yet another big spending liberal like Ahnold (yes, despite the R next to his name, he's still not much more than a run of the mill democrat). And the last thing the nations tax payers need is to have to 'bail out' CA because the liberals drove it to financial ruin.

Here's a thought, maybe if we closed the border we wouldnt be paying billions for social services used by 'undocumented workers'.

[Dystopic1]

Yea just what any state needs, a moron who jumped ship as the company she lead began to sink. She is incompetent just like so many CEO's.


Ohhhh, scarrrrry liberals, as if the conservatives are any better. Cut the taxes for the rich, bail out failing industries, stripe away American's rights (Patriot Act, wiretapping). Seriously, get a new grip on politics. Same bird of a different feather.

[The_happy_switcher]

Hope not. Look how she ran ebay into the ground.