September 16, 2008 3:36 PM
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McCain Adviser Says McCain, Palin Unprepared To Run Major Company
Top McCain adviser Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard, today said both Sarah Palin and John McCain lack the experience necessary to run a major company.
As Huffington Post first reported, Fiorina was asked on St. Louis KTRS Radio if she believes Palin "has the experience to run a major company, like Hewlett Packard."
"No, I don't," Fiorina replied. "But you know what? That's not what she's running for."
Asked about the comment later on MSNBC, Fiorina made a similar statement about the man at the top of the Republican ticket.
"Well, I don't think John McCain could run a major corporation," Fiorina said.
She continued: "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, Barack Obama or Joe Biden are doing."
Fiorina's is the second statement from a McCain adviser today that the campaign likely wishes it could take back. Earlier, economic advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin suggested that McCain helped create the BlackBerry communications device, a comment later dismissed as a "boneheaded joke" by a McCain aide.
"If John McCain's top economic advisor 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?" Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement. "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."
As Huffington Post first reported, Fiorina was asked on St. Louis KTRS Radio if she believes Palin "has the experience to run a major company, like Hewlett Packard."
"No, I don't," Fiorina replied. "But you know what? That's not what she's running for."
Asked about the comment later on MSNBC, Fiorina made a similar statement about the man at the top of the Republican ticket.
"Well, I don't think John McCain could run a major corporation," Fiorina said.
She continued: "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, Barack Obama or Joe Biden are doing."
Fiorina's is the second statement from a McCain adviser today that the campaign likely wishes it could take back. Earlier, economic advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin suggested that McCain helped create the BlackBerry communications device, a comment later dismissed as a "boneheaded joke" by a McCain aide.
"If John McCain's top economic advisor 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?" Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement. "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."
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Brian Montopoli Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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