Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The Fiorina Follies: With Surrogates Like This, Who Needs Enemies?


Say goodbye to Carly Fiorina on the campaign trail. The former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and John McCain mouthpiece will likely be exiled to political Siberia after suffering one of the campaign's worst cases of foot-in-mouth disease Tuesday. Asked by NBC's Andrea Mitchell to explain a comment she made last week in a St. Louis radio station interview that Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's vice-presidential running mate, is not capable of running a major U.S. corporation like HP, she committed surrogate Hari-kari:

"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 Joe Biden could run a major corporation. It is a fallacy to suggest that the country is like a company. So, of course, to run a business, you have to have a lifetime of experience in business, but that's not what Sarah Palin, John McCain, Joe Biden or Barack Obama are doing."

So, the woman who herself in 2006 was booted out of HP--a company about to cut 26,000 jobs (7.5% of its workforce)--says neither presidential or vice presidential candidate could run it either. Apparently, HP must be one helluva difficult company to run.

Sen. Obama was quick to pounce on Fiorina's gigantic gaffe: "If John McCain's top economic adviser 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."

Has Fiorina lost her mind? Her implication that it's harder to run a major corporation like HP than it is the United States government is absurd and delusional and, quite frankly, a tad narcissistic. She arrogantly claims that to run HP you need "a lifetime of experience" but cavalierly suggests that to be president all you really need is 1 1/2 years as Governor of Alaska and a few more in local Wasilla politics. Kooky-Carly believes it's harder to run a company with 150,000 employees than it is a freakin' country with 2.8-million on the payroll. And forget those pesky little decisions involving international diplomacy, the military, the national economy, health care, education and immigration. Who needs experience with that nonsense? Yes Carly, this, unlike the HP CEO role, is an office for which on-the-job-training is ok.

McCain, the self-proclaimed "I'm fucking clueless when it comes to the economy" guy, sure knows how to pick his economic advisors, huh? Just a few months after the immensely entertaining Phil "Mental Recession/Nation of Whiners" Gramm show, along comes Kooky-Carly and the Fiorina Follies to remind us just how clueless McCain really is. Is this really the sort of judgement that would make for a good president?

This week started off with Black Monday, where the stock market dropped over 500 points and investors lost $500-billion in equity. And this just wasn't one isolated day here. The market's been tanking for a while now, and economist after economist says we're either in recession or about to enter one...and a major one at that. But that didn't stop McCain from repeating his duplicitous and/or delusional mantra that "The fundamentals of the economy are strong." It's a phrase Grandpa John apparently loves, as he's said it about 22 times this year including:

11/27/07: "I think the fundamentals are strong"

1/10: "I think the fundamentals of this economy are strong"

1/17: "Our economic fundamentals are strong"

3/11: "The fundamentals of our economy are strong"

5/5: "The fundamentals of our economy are strong"

6/5: "The fundamentals of our economy are very strong"

McCain's insistence that the economy is strong should be the nail in his political coffin for anyone still doubting just how out-of-touch he is with the financial anxieties of average Americans, let alone his grasp of the dire straits the nation is in.

Since George Bush took office in 2000, the "fundamentals of the economy" are horrendous:

-Unemployment 6.1% vs 4.2%
-Budget deficit of $357-billion vs $281-billion budget surplus
-National debt at $9.7-trillion vs $5.8-trillion
-Gas $4/gallon vs $1.27
-Inflation at 5.37% from 2.74%
-Real Wages down 2%
-Consumer Confidence Index .57 vs historical high of 145

Add to this grim picture the crisis over 400,000 U.S. home foreclosures, a mortgage meltdown, and multiple Wall Street bankruptcies. Seriously, I'd like a bowl of some of that crack McCain's been smoking if he truly thinks the "fundamentals are strong."

It didn't take long for McCrusty to realize what a colossal mistake he made and, in a back-peddle that would make a circus-clown proud, he did his disingenuous best to spin a great tale, like this one to an incredulous Matt Lauer of NBC, who challenged him on his overly optimistic mantra:

"Well it's obviously true that the workers of America are the fundamentals of our economy, and our strength and our future, and I believe in the American worker and someone who disagrees with that is fine. We are in crisis...we all know that."

No, we don't all know that. McCain clearly doesn't, or he wouldn't be incessantly regurgitating his "strong fundamentals" nonsense.

By late afternoon all the snake-oil McCain surrogates were shamelessly spinning this new "American worker" defense. On MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Mitt Romney, the once "CEO presidential candidate," who clearly knows better, tried his best--albeit with his patented smirk--to clarify McCain's econogibberish:

"What he's referring to of course is the underlying productivity of the American workforce...the innovative spirit of America..those things, of course, things that are they envy of the world...but right now our economy is in real trouble and a lot people are really suffering...the economy is really suffering, and that's what John McCain indicated." Nice try, Mittsy, but no one's buyin' it.

In fact, with the economic shitstorm we're facing right now, and McCain's crystal-clear lack of understanding of the severity of this crisis and how to deal with it effectively (sorry Grandpa, simply throwing more tax breaks at the wealthy ain't gonna do it this time), anyone who votes for him must be smokin' some of that McCrack.


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19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Prominent Clinton backer and DNC member to endorse McCain

A prominent backer of Hillary Clinton is endorsing McCain.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee, will endorse John McCain for president on Wednesday, her spokesman tells CNN.

The announcement will take place at a news conference on Capitol Hill, just blocks away from the DNC headquarters. Forester will “campaign and help him through the election,” the spokesman said of her plans to help the Republican presidential nominee.

Forester was a major donor for Clinton earning her the title as a Hillraiser for helping to raise at least $100,000 for the New York Democratic senator’s failed presidential bid.

In an interview with CNN this summer, Forester did not hide her distaste for eventual Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

“This is a hard decision for me personally because frankly I don't like him,” she said of Obama in an interview with CNN’s Joe Johns. “I feel like he is an elitist. I feel like he has not given me reason to trust him.”

If the Democrats can't trust him, why should the rest of America ?

At least John McCain has a proven record of reaching across the isle to work for America. John McCain has a track record of bucking his own party for the good of the country. Obama has no such track record. Obama doesn't even have a track record of keeping his word.

Sarah said...

Gee....
Now I am running scared!
Lynn Forester de Rothschild?

WOW!

That does change things, doesn't it?

Anonymous said...

Harry Reid has blasted Phil Gramm for the current Wall Street dilemmas because Gramm was responsible for legislation that deregulated the financial services industries. Joe Biden supported this legislation

Obama selected Jim Johnson, the former chairman of Fannie Mae, to his vice presidential search committee. That certainly was yet another example of Obama's poor judgement.

Sarah said...

Did you hear about Obama's babysitter?
She let the girls stay up until midnight!
yet another example of Obam's poor judgement.

Anonymous said...

"Heav'n has no Rage like love to hatred turn'd; Nor Hell a Fury like a woman scorn'd."

Carly Fiorina obvliously cannot take the public humiliation and the failure she is experiencing. She is striking out at everybody;and, she needs couseling immediately. This underlying lack of confidence probably accounts for her failure at her job.

As for the economy and the fundamental strength of our American resources, CNN/The Situation Room were wildly exuberant over the GM invention of a fabulous electric car, invented in America, produced in America by Americans and will be bought by Americans. It will bring back the automobile industry to the US,jobs, profit and fuel efficiency. Why isn't that on the front pages?

McCain is right. More such production will follow.

Anonymous said...

Do you have any idea how much that Volt will cost? about $50,0000!

Thing about it: No one will be able to afford it! (Here in Michigan it was all over the front pages of the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News)

There is no reason that McCain should even be close or ahead except for the race factor. If we don't have a huge turnout for Obama, McCain will win for sure.

Anonymous said...

There are plenty of people who will pay 50,000 and it may be a bargain at that on fuel costs. Soon the price will go down and its success is inevitable.

Obama cannot blame his loss on racism anymore than everybody claims Hillary cannot blame hers on sexism.

He has made too many mistakes and misjudgments. He is not trusted.

It is not race; it's character. And, it's not "who would you like to have a beer with." It is far more serious than that.

Anonymous said...

It is not that people "like" the way McCain will lead, it is half of the country is not obsessed with wealth envy like the Democrats.

I don't want to take money from someone because they are rich and give it to under achievers. I'm happy for the excessively wealthy and just want my chance to become one of them without Democrats forcing 'neighborliness' on me using the force of the United States government.

If Democrats weren't so quick to try to punish the successful people of this country, I'd be more willing to consider voting for their candidate.

BTW, I'm a registered Democrat but the Democratic party left me a long time ago.

Anonymous said...

4:07

I live in Michigan, race is playing a part big time. You are blind to realtiy. Wake up!

About that $50,000:

Are you crazy? With lower wages, no one will be able to afford $50,000 for a car! Wake up!

Anonymous said...

4:52

We are glad you left.

Anonymous said...

'neighborliness' using the force of the United States government is not neighborliness - it is socialism.

Sidney Condorcet said...

Gee, someone by the name of "Lynn Forester de Rothschild" calls Obama an elitist? A freakin' Rothschild!?! No one with "de" in front of their last name has any credibility when it comes to labeling others elitist. Sorry, come again.

Obama's swinging back up in the polls. I wonder why...Hmmm, oh yeah, the economy is shitting a brick so the media is again focusing on what the candidates actually have to say regarding an actual crisis rather than...say...lipstick on pigs...or Sarah Palin's ability to play mommy and governor at the same time...

If the media is focusing on actual issues, Obama will win. If McCain succeeds in having the spotlight be on Palin or Obama or his own character, then McCain wins. That's why Obama needs to K-I-S-S, or keep it simple stupid. Economy, jobs, health care, bush, mccain, economy, jobs, health care, bush, mccain...

Racism will play a part in a few states (not all)...I will never feel Obama can win Ohio until I see him up by more than 5%. Pennsylvania will also be closer than it should be, as will Michigan.

It's going to be close and boil down to Colorado, NM, Nevada and Virginia.

Ohio will likely stay republican, PA will stay Dem. Democrats will flip Iowa and New Hampshire from Bush '04.

McCain's best bet for a flip to lock it all up is Michigan.

Anonymous said...

Lynn Forester de Rothschild calling Obama an elitist? Irony is truly dead.

Anonymous said...

It looks like Americans are waking up. RCP shows that Oregon has upgraded from 'leaning Obama' to 'toss up' and McCain has a percentage point lead there.

We need momentum to continue in the McCain/Palin direction and we'll be OK.

Obama and his terrorist friends in the Weather Underground aren't going to sneak into the White House in 2008. They better start cuddling up with Hillary for the 2012 run.

Anonymous said...

wow, check it out. Look back on the most recent threads and you will see the mysterious absence of Sidney.

But...there is a new female to bash - "Lynn Forester de Rothschild" and guess who shows up? Sidney!

Surprise surprise....

If a conservative made fun of someone's foreign sounding last night, the libs would jump all over that person calling them a nationalist pig...but it's OK - it was just Sidney bashing a woman.

Sidney Condorcet said...

haha, the shit-eating douchebag is back to his old tricks...

Please tell me how I "bashed" Ms. de Rothschild?

Oh, and if you weren't a lying sack of shit, you'd notice that I posted multiple times on Ostroy's last entry where I discussed taxes, volunteer programs, bipartisanship...

So (a) clearly there wasn't a "mysterious absence" as you say;
(b) most of my posts have nothing to do whatsoever with a female politician or what a female activist has said; and
(c) I have not "bashed" a woman...

Why do you waste your time consistently writing entries that you know to be lies? Is it merely because you enjoy prompting a response from me? You really should consider some therapy. I'm not trying to be a dick when I suggest that you see a psychologist, you really seem like you could use some help.

You equate my having said that a Rothschild lacks credibility with the elitist line with "bashing a woman"...Your brain is obviously scrambled in some sad, pathetic way...

Anonymous said...

5:10 PM,
Don't be silly, only conservatives can 'bash'. You aren't allowed to borrow attack lines from the loony left.

Anonymous said...

Andy, when describing Fiorina, you wrote "Apparently, HP must be one helluva difficult company to run." It's important to remember that Fiorina--this "valuable economic advisor" to McSame--was forced out of her job by the board of Hewlett-Packard after the nearly-disastrous merger with Compaq Computer which almost tanked HP! The company's board had to bring in a more experienced CEO to resolve the mess she left! When I heard that she was one of McSame's advisors, I immediately questioned what little judgment he has left, and I KNEW that he was right when he admitted that he has little experience with the economy!

Anonymous said...

Let's see:

- Economy is Bad
- McCain = Bush
- Bush is President
- Democrats control congress

So following this trail, we should elect Obama and throw out the Dems in Congress?

Just what have the Dems been doing for the economy lately? Why didn't Obama see this financial crisis coming and do something about it? Did he try?