Check out the Women for Romney banner:
What a great picture of Ann!
Posted on 07/19/2007 5:29:49 AM PDT by Reaganesque
You never know who you’ll wind up sitting by on a bus. So when I was lucky enough to slide in next to Meg Whitman, President and CEO of eBay, on a shuttle to Fenway Park on Day One of Mitt Romney’s Calling America fundraising event, I seized the moment to find out why such an accomplished person herself so eagerly sits on the front row of the Romney campaign …
As one of the most successful executives in the world, Mrs.Whitman knows what it takes to run an organization. And this woman with an impressive resume of her own whole-heartedly believes that Mitt Romney “has the most relevant experience of any candidate and is qualified for the biggest CEO job in the world.”
She has known Mitt for many years, both as a business colleague and friend, and has now taken an active role in fundraising for his campaign. Of her dedication, she says, “I think the country is at a crossroads and it really matters who the next President will be. I know [Mitt Romney] would be the best choice.”
Meg first worked with Mitt 25 years ago, and has kept an eye on him ever since. Shortly after receiving degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Business School, she met Mitt while working for him at Bain and Company. Of her time there, she said, “Everyone clamored to work on Mitt’s teams and projects. We knew that was where you would learn the most.”
Meg remembers Mitt as a great leader, mentor and boss who truly cared about the individuals with whom he worked. Of the time when Mitt shut down Bain to encourage his employees to help a partner look for a missing daughter, she remarked “Not many people in his position would do that.”
Not only did Romney take the initiative to know Whitman’s name when she was a “nameless new person” at Bain, but he kept an eye on her career as well. After leaving Bain, Meg went on to management and executive level jobs at Disney, Stride Rite, FTD, and Hasbro before taking on the role of President and CEO of eBay in 1998. Meg and Mitt’s paths crossed again during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, when eBay power sellers helped sell Olympic merchandise. And now most recently, Meg was there on the ground floor in Detroit and South Carolina when Mitt announced that he would be running for President.
Since his announcement, Meg Whitman has been a visible supporter of the Romney campaign, participating in both of Mitt’s Calling America events by raising money and recruiting supporters. She thinks of him as someone who “makes the impossible possible” and who “can tackle through the toughest problems, devise a get well plan, and deliver results.”
What excites her most about a Romney administration?
Many things. “As a non-Washington guy, Mitt would bring a fresh approach as well as the right tool kit and attitude needed to change Washington. Mitt has a businesslike, fact-based approach to situations, as well as the track record of bringing in people who know how to tackle specific problems. He really listens.”
What problems is she hoping the “fix-it man” will fix?
Whitman believes in Mitt’s ability to address the Iraq situation as well as his focus on strengthening our military, which “so desperately needs upgrades in technology, training and equipment. America has never been weak when our military has been strong.” And she believes that during his successful term as governor of Massachusetts, Mitt proved capable of addressing entitlement issues such as healthcare, education, and our dependence on foreign oil.
As an executive in the technology industry, Whitman strongly supports the aspect of Mitt’s immigration policy that would essentially “staple a green card to advanced degree holders”, allowing our workforce to benefit from highly educated and qualified internationals. She also supports his philosophy of giving the people the power and tools to be in control of their own businesses and incomes rather than allowing the government to grow and oversee such aspects of individuals’ lives.
As a wife and mother of two, Meg also admires Mitt’s emphasis on building strong families. And while she agrees that “our country is more than ready for a female presidential candidate, that doesn’t mean the best candidate right now is the female one.” She cites Mitt’s tremendous history of bringing in women to serve on his campaigns, committees, and on his cabinet while as governor of Massachusetts as evidence of his desire to address issues important to women by listening directly to the female voice.
Whitman also knows that Romney’s people skills would make him a great international ambassador, as he is a great listener. She has enjoyed watching him grow even through his campaign as “every speech and presentation [of his] gets better. His performance in debates is remarkable.”
But as an industry peer and friend of Mitt’s, Meg knows firsthand that the Romney campaign is not just a performance. And it is not about a successful man seeking more success. Rather, she believes the possibility of a Romney administration stems from a much nobler cause,
“The presidency would not be the capstone of his career; he’s already had that. Mitt Romney’s not doing this for himself, he’s doing it for the country.”
Check out the Women for Romney banner:
What a great picture of Ann!
Presidential in demeanor, economically conservative, a track record of success and wealth of experience, I see Romney as the most viable “conservative” candidate.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Margaret C. "Meg" Whitman (born August 4, 1956) has been the President and CEO of the online marketplace eBay since March 1998. Whitman joined eBay when the company had 29 employees and operated solely in the United States; eBay is now a global organization with over 11,000 employees. In addition to managing eBay, she currently serves on the Board of Directors of Procter & Gamble and DreamWorks Animation. According to Forbes magazine, Whitman was worth an estimated $1.3 billion in 2007. She is one of only seven women to have been repeatedly ranked among the world's most influential people by Time magazine.
Hallelujah, Meg! It's reassuring to see how many smart, accomplished and good people support Mitt, like Meg Whitman, James Bopp, Jr, Sen. Jim DeMint, Peter Flaherty, David French etc... I hope more people figure out the great opportunity we have in Mitt Romney and his family. So far, the people in Iowa and New Hampshire have figured it out. I hope it catches on elsewhere.
3/25/2006 $1,000 Nelson, Ben (D-NE) 10/7/2006 $1,000 Snowe, Olympia J (RINO-ME) 6/7/2002 $1,000 Cantwell, Maria (D-WA) 6/27/2002 $1,000 Honda, Mike (D-CA) 11/21/2003 $2,000 Boxer, Barbara (D-CA) [also listed as 11/24/2003] 11/12/2005 $1,000 Ackerman, Gary (D-NY) 7/13/1999 $1,000 Kerry, John (D-MA)
Someone who gives money to John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, and Maria Cantwell is not someone I want to take election advice from.
However, in the last few years, 2006 and 2007, her donations have been predominantly to Republicans, including:
$5000 to the RNC Seantorial Committee,
$5000 to the RNC Congressional Committee,
$2300 to Mitt Romney,
$2000 to George Allen,
$1000 to James Sensenbrenner, and
$1000 to Charles Pickering. http://www.newsmeat.com/ceo_political_donations/Meg_Whitman.php
I stated right up front that the bulk of her donations went to Republicans, so don’t try to paint me as “cherry picking” or disingenuous. The donations to folks like Boxer, Kerry, and Cantwell are still highly suspect, no matter what the reason, not to mention donations to RINOs like Snowe.
Crazy stuff happens, politics makes strange bedfellows like this:
Senator Lincoln Chafee was running for re-election in 2006, Fred Thompson campaigned for him and came to his defense. Here's a Fred quote:
"There are a lot of reasons I support Linc. We agree on most issues, disagree on some." I guess even Fred voted with or supported some RINOs. I am more concerned with that.
I’m sure you are.
Romney gives us the perfect opportunity to argue anti-Senate, anti-DC, anti-status quo against the dems.
Great article! Thanks for posting. What are the chances that Mitt selects a non-politician as VP, like Meg? This seems like a risky move, but from what I’ve read, Mitt likes to keep people from his inner circle (Bain, etc.) near him.
That would be interesting! Meg Whitman is someone who certainly understands the challenges American business faces in this new huge global economy.
Wowzers! 1.3 billion dollars net worth! By the way the headlines from yesterday on WallStreet.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070719/earns_ebay.html?.v=3
EBay’s 2Q Profit Surges 50 Percent
The online auction company reported Wednesday that second-quarter profit surged 50 percent, easily beating Wall Street expectations thanks to strong sales on online auctions, the automobile classified section and e-commerce sites such as shopping.com...
You haven’t provided enough information to make any judgment. Those are piddly numbers for someone of her wealth. Were they for the primaries or the general? Who was the opponent? Did the donee serve on a committee that affected her business? Who else did she contribute to in the same election?
For example, I would think it was smart business to give a token amount to someone who could directly affect her business, and was likely to be re-elected. And if she gave even more to a Conservative opponent in the same election, then these were definitely “smart”.
Is Time magazine one of your benchmarks?
I firmly believe that Mitt has what it takes to run this country with all that we are facing. He would be a refreshing change!
Thats what it comes down to for me. I don’t think Mitt is ideologically perfect, and for a senator or congressman I would choose another. But he is a great executive who can turn around Washington. For example do we need something like 42 different government agencies and bureaucracies dolling out money for poor people’s housing. How about one agency, one efficient bureaucracy and give all that money going to countless bureaucrats and consultants to people who actually need it.
Getting rid of duplication, bureaucracy and waste is what turn around specialists do. The problem with other leaders even Bush is without ever turning around things in their life they can’t reform government. Look Bush gives orders for education and they make it about two levels down the bureaucracy before they fizzle out - a bureaucracy with in some cases 40 levels. So he resorted to throwing more money at the problem.
Guiliani has similiar executive ability, except he honestly scares me some with his stone cold authoritarian personality. I don’t think he really values liberty. Fred seems like ideologically sound, but with no experience running even medium sized organizations, let around turning around organizations, I see the bureaucracy running roughshod over him, just like Bush. He will more be figurehead, and hopefully a good veto.
No, Time is crap. I just cut and pasted wiki for more information on someone I knew little about. I did bold the Forbes magazine quote which I thought mattered.
In most of those cases, they were the maximum contribution allowed by law at that time.
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