DISQUS

sameasiteverwas · 1 year ago

Of course, Carly Fiorina pretty much ran HP into the ground. So in a perverse way, maybe experience is overrated after all ;-)

rooney · 1 year ago

The truth according to Carly...

McCain not qualified to run a major corporation either...I am sure she will say that neither are Obama and Biden. I'm not sure HP is a fair test, Lehamn Brother or Bear Stearns, might be a better comparison, but if POTUS can't handle HP, we are in trouble.

http://bit.ly/90hfL

sjudd · 1 year ago

So are you implying that Obama is qualified to be the CEO of HP?

ontarioemperor · 1 year ago

I suspect that Obama would be more qualified to run HP than Biden. Of course, this extends the idea that government should be run "like a business" - or, more importantly, "like a startup." I shudder to think what would have happened if Ross Perot had become President. People who are used to giving orders are not necessarily good at working with Congress, although for larger companies (including HP), there is some negotiation between the CEO and other stakeholders.

Doug Kaye · 1 year ago

I love this question.

Michael · 1 year ago

I'd say none of the four (Palin, McCain, Obama, and Biden) are qualified to run HP. Most CEOs aren't qualified to be President either. So what's your point?

If I had to pick any of those four to run a company, it'd be Palin. Being the Governor of a state is better experience for running a company than being in the legislature (Senate).

interstar · 1 year ago

I see the point, but I think presidents of countries probably need to be small-c conservative in a way that CEOs of companies shouldn't.

CEOs need to be risk takers, visionaries with *expansionist* policies. ("Let's get into this new market" / "let's make this new product"). No head of a mature democratic state should be. ("Let's invade this country"). That's not to say presidents shouldn't be bold or courageous or innovative - but the two personalities and skill-sets are different.

bbebop · 1 year ago

running a big company like HP is too big a test. ask carly if she would have hired palin for any senior or executive position at HP. palin can only swim with other pols...

magnusdopus · 1 year ago

HP just laid off 25k people. I don't think any of the candidates would have made that call. Actually, considering Palin's record with librarians and other she disagrees with, she might be apt to make that move more than Obama.

Conversely, I wonder what CEO would make a good president. Gates, Ballmer, Jobs, Schmidt? Dude, nothing would be better than Jobs doing the state of the union. Write in vote for Steve Jobs!

Ken Hudak · 1 year ago

I think comparing CEO's to Politicians is comparing apples to polar bears. Would Larry Ellison of Oracle be a good President? Not Really. Does that mean Ellison isn't qualified to be CEO of Oracle? It sure doesn't. If Palin wanted to be a NASCAR driver, would you debate her ability to be successful as a journalist? Nope.

The government relies on big business and it's interest groups to guide it. What politicians are really experts at anything? None.

Dan · 1 year ago

So are you saying that Obama could run HP? If so, what experience does he have that makes you say that? If not, what's the purpose of this discussion?

24AheadDotCom · 1 year ago

Per a transcript, here's what she later said: "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. But on the other hand, a major corporation is not the same as being the president or vice president of the United States. 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."

If she's qualified to judge and is correct in saying that Palin and McCain can't be CEOs, then isn't she also qualified in the case of BHO and Biden?

And, shouldn't BHO fans be encouraging the MSM to concentrate on policies? That is where BHO is strongest, right?

dave · 1 year ago

Too much negotiating going on here. I don't give any significance to what Fiorina says, they're all just playing troll on cable TV shows and they're not very good at it. I didn't take her seriously when she said that Tina Fey was being sexist so why should I take her seriously when she says Pailin couldn't run HP, other than DOH isn't it kind of obvious???

The problem -- the thing we should all be worrying about is that this election the whole world can see what assholes we are and how much we lie, and do you thikn they're ever going to believe anything we say to them after the election?

Think about it.

alain · 1 year ago

And is any other major power in the world with a democratically elected government any better when it comes to how politics is run? Let's hold the mirror up and ask that question:

Great Britain - have you read their press and seen the games they play? They flat out fabricate things without needing the other party to coax them.
France - don't even get me started - they actually have a major party that runs on a fully racist platform and came in 2nd with better than 15% of the vote in the first round of elections in 2002.
Italy - one name - Berlusconi - says it all
Mexico - oh my God, can you think of a more corrupt system? Gore Bush was nothing compared to the Calderon Obrador fracas.
South America - every one of the regimes in Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, not only play every dirty trick in the book, once in office they take steps to change the constitution so they can stay in office longer if not perpetually (re: Venezuela).
Canada - surely they should be above the fray, right? As if. From the Conservatives making the Jean Chretien's facial palsy a focus in their attack ads, to The Liberal Party running outright lies in their ads stating that Stephen Harper would resort to martial law.

Lies, dirty tricks, and politics will ALWAYS go hand in hand. The question is whether or not the public will respond to the lies or not. The politician who says they refuse to resort to dirty tricks or shades of the truth is generally the most insidious liar of them all. There is no honor in politics - accept that fact and move on. The seats of power consistently corrupt even the best of men and women.

Yes, the US should be better than that - but seriously, there never was a time in US politics when this type of behavior wasn't going on. Pols today are just more transparent in their hypocrisy and cheating.

donbellamy · 1 year ago

So.... What has Barack Obama run? and would he be more qualified than Sarah Palin? Keep focusing on Mrs. Palin and the democrats will lose this election by a wide margin......

drenn · 1 year ago

of course, I don't think Fiorina was qualified either. She made one bad decision after another and eventually went down in flames. Not that I think Pailin could do it, but there might be a bit of, "If I couldn't, she couldn't," going on here.

rbushway · 1 year ago

Read this:

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/16/fiorina...

hbobrien · 1 year ago

"I suspect if they made the mistake of hiring her to run the company, they'd get nailed in countless lawsuits in the first week, not the least of which would be a suit to have the Board removed for making such an incredibly stupid choice."

Given what I call the Jerry Yang Pride Tax (JYPT, pronounced "gypped") -- the difference between what Microsoft offered and what YHOO is worth today (currently about $19 billion) -- I don't think there's any evidence a randomly chosen board would do that. When one adds the various banking companies -- Bear Stearns, Lehman, Merrill, etc. -- none of whom have had revolts by their boards, I think the point is driven home by boring repetition.

I'm going to be a contrarian to the general thread and say I think could Palin *could* be a CEO. That's not because I hold Palin in such high regard -- it's because there are so few genuinely successful CEOs that the distribution appears to be random, and not related to any repeatable skills. CEO, as a job, is vastly overrated when it comes to real world performance of companies.

mariva · 1 year ago

Dave, I think you're selling yourself short. You could probably run HP just fine, and you probably wouldn't resort to spying on the board, either.

donbellamy · 1 year ago

She also stated that neither Obama or Biden could run a corporation and in fact Obama was the least qualified of any. Way to spin this in your direction. :)

dataGuy · 1 year ago

Dave, I'm not a big fan of the rich (mostly because I'm not) but I do agree with this:

"When exactly did taxation transform into a form of charity? Biden, it seems, has a difficult time differentiating between coercion and generosity. The distinction is simple: When one fails at altruism, he is a louse; when one fails to pay taxes, he ends up in the slammer.

But anyone can "jump in" at any time. Biden and his wife, who would be considered wealthy under an Obama/Biden tax plan, for instance, gave an average of $369 a year to charity during the past decade. So you can see that by "help," Biden means assistance with your money."

--David Harsanyi; "... But one life to give the IRS"

JC31 · 1 year ago

But remember, Fiorina couldn't run HP either and was asked to step down. Great economic advisor!!

marshal sandler · 1 year ago

In a way it is sad that Republican Snobs have been cruel to Palin by setting her up ! But then the Powers that be have alway gotten us into a war's- and watched people die and just reviewed number's as did Kissinger in Vietnam! The talking heads in the media are of course the cruelest bastard's on earth ! I think they have met their match with Obama, he understands the street and all the gutters within, he will walk the street's of success and leave the media in the gutter ! Lately the Maven's can't even run GM !

Cheryl · 6 months ago

I feel Sarah Pailin should be run out or any kind of office for not excepting the apology from David Letterman and continuing to ruin his life and get him fired. He has made every effert to make his appology known and she seem to keep causing him creef and trouble. I feel she need to make a public statement saying she excepts his appology and will not continue to ruin his life. Who is next on her list of lifes to ruin cause she cant keep her kids in check. If she doesn't want things said about her kids KEEP THEM OUT OF THE SPOT LIGHT. I blame her for bring some of this on herself for that reason. I am not happy with David Lettermans joke either, being a mother of 2 daughters myself. but I believe he has made his effert not it's Sarah Pailins turn to do whats right to save this mans job
I really hope someone sees this and passes it on to the people whe need to see it