Posted By: Nick
Frank Rich used his column in the NYTimes today to slam John McCain… hard. Focusing primarily on McCain’s lack of economic knowledge and experience, Rich essentially makes the case that our economy can’t afford a McCain Presidency.
“In a time of war,” Mr. McCain said last week, “the commander in chief doesn’t get a learning curve.” Fair enough, but he imparted this wisdom in a speech that was almost a year behind Mr. Obama in recognizing Afghanistan as the central front in the war against Al Qaeda. Given that it took the deadliest Taliban suicide bombing in Kabul since 9/11 to get Mr. McCain’s attention, you have to wonder if even General Custer’s learning curve was faster than his.
As detailed, and brutal, as his attacks on McCain are, I think I most enjoyed the two paragraphs devoted to McCain’s top economic surrogate, Carly Fiorina.
Ms. Fiorina, the ubiquitous new public face of McCain economic policy, adds nothing to the mix beyond her incessant display of corporate jargon, from “trend lines” to “start-ups.” Before she was fired at Hewlett-Packard, its stock had declined 50 percent during her five-plus years in charge. She missed earning projections — by 23 percent in one quarter — much as she now misrepresents both the Obama and McCain records. This month she said Mr. McCain wanted to require insurance plans to cover birth control medications along with Viagra, when in fact he had voted against it.
Ms. Fiorina received a $42 million payout (half in cash) from H.P., according to a shareholders’ subsequent lawsuit. With this inspiring résumé, she now aspires to be Mr. McCain’s running mate. So does the irrepressible Mitt Romney, who actually was a business whiz before serving as Massachusetts’s governor. Beltway wisdom has it that the addition of such a corporate star will remedy Mr. McCain’s fiscal flatulence.
This column is a powerful argument against John McCain. Read the whole thing, and then give a copy to any friends that say they are going to vote for McCain.
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McCain has greenish-yellow teeth. I could never vote for a Commander-In-Chief who doesn’t know how to take care of his teeth. Anyone who is afraid of dentists is not qualified to lead the United States. Obama? Gleaming, white teeth.
Haha! Well, we all have our reasons I suppose. As long as you’re voting for Obama, I’m happy.
You’ve got to be joking. This is “slamming” McCain? Frank Rich is taking facts out of context. For example, while Carly Fiorina was justly fired from HP, blaming her for the decline in the stock is misleading. She started at HP near the peak of a tech bubble! With the exception of Apple, almost every tech stock declined during the period Carly Fiorina was CEO.
John McCain is woefully ignorant of economics (and evidently most other important issues). Carly Fiorina almost destroyed Hewlett Packard. His choosing of her as a top surrogate shows his bad judgment.
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