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EBay's retiring chief executive may be considering a run for California governor
LA Times ^ | 1/24/08 | Joe Mathews, Los Angeles Times

Posted on 01/24/2008 5:54:32 PM PST by BurbankKarl

As she prepares to depart from EBay after a decade at the helm, Chief Executive Meg Whitman appears to be investigating a new career -- in politics.

Whitman has talked with top Republicans about the possibility of a run for California governor in 2010, according to three operatives who have had discussions with her. Whitman is said to be asking detailed questions about the logistics of a run and the impact she could have as governor, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the conversations.

Whitman did not make herself available for comment. A source close to her said she had been talking with Republicans around the state and had become "fascinated" by politics in her work as a fundraiser for GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts and a former colleague of Whitman at the consulting firm Bain & Company.

The source close to Whitman, however, downplayed the seriousness of the conversations, saying that Whitman was still new to politics and that California Republicans, not Whitman, were the ones driving the discussion.

"This thing has come to her," the source said. "She hasn't given it all that much thought. It's not, 'I'm going to run. Give me a game plan.' "

Last September, Whitman switched her party registration from "decline to state" to Republican, according to records in San Mateo County, where she lives. The source close to Whitman said she had made the change so she could vote for Romney in the Feb. 5 Republican primary, which is closed to independents this year.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: ca2010; cagop
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They said the same thing about Carly Fiorina
1 posted on 01/24/2008 5:54:33 PM PST by BurbankKarl
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To: BurbankKarl

We don’t have a good record with governors named Whitman.


2 posted on 01/24/2008 5:56:29 PM PST by darkangel82 (And the band played on....)
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To: BurbankKarl

Crawl back under you hole, Whitman. This job belongs to McClintock.


3 posted on 01/24/2008 5:58:06 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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To: BurbankKarl

Huh, for some reason I thought Ebay was fully stocked with 110% libtards. Interesting.


4 posted on 01/24/2008 5:58:22 PM PST by ECM (Government is a make-work program for lawyers.)
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To: BurbankKarl
Someone explain to me why millionaires, who could retire and lead the life of Riley of no stress, would choose to enter the dirty, disgusting, and utterly unrespectable field of being a politician.

Someone please explain that to me. Aren't their millions enough? Why would someone volunteer for that kind of stress and annoyance?

5 posted on 01/24/2008 6:01:19 PM PST by Lizavetta ( Politicians: When they're speaking, they're lying - when they're not speaking, they're stealing.)
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To: ECM

Arnold has set the precedent for libtard Republicans in CA, aka “moderates”.


6 posted on 01/24/2008 6:02:11 PM PST by rightwingcrazy
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To: rightwingcrazy

Oh, I know: I lived in Cali for a decade up till July. But it’s still weird to see someone at eBay self-identifying as Republican.


7 posted on 01/24/2008 6:03:24 PM PST by ECM (Government is a make-work program for lawyers.)
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To: BurbankKarl

Didn’t she support and vote for Bill back in 1992 and 1996?


8 posted on 01/24/2008 6:18:11 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
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To: Lizavetta
Someone explain to me why millionaires, who could retire and lead the life of Riley of no stress, would choose to enter the dirty, disgusting, and utterly unrespectable field of being a politician.

Someone please explain that to me. Aren’t their millions enough? Why would someone volunteer for that kind of stress and annoyance?

Excellent point, Lizavetta. I have never understood this motive myself, but maybe it has to do with a desire to "make a difference" after making a whole lotta money.

9 posted on 01/24/2008 6:20:57 PM PST by vox_freedom
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To: BurbankKarl
Last September, Whitman switched her party registration from "decline to state" to Republican, according to records in San Mateo County, where she lives. The source close to Whitman said she had made the change so she could vote for Romney in the Feb. 5 Republican primary, which is closed to independents this year.

Sounds to me like she's not a real conservative.

10 posted on 01/24/2008 6:23:34 PM PST by Disambiguator
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To: BurbankKarl
She didn’t do eBay any good. Why would we want to take that record and apply it to the state?
11 posted on 01/24/2008 6:36:30 PM PST by DB
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To: BurbankKarl
They said the same thing about Carly Fiorina

Yes, but Meg's counting on the "Buy It Now" option. :)

12 posted on 01/24/2008 6:39:31 PM PST by KStorm (Today's liberal is tomorrow's fascist. Well, okay--today's fascist.)
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To: vox_freedom; Lizavetta

I think you are right, vox.....it’s a chance to GIVE SOMETHING BACK....some of us are compelled by that, as others have other compelling drives.....We need MORE conservatives with that compelling drive.


13 posted on 01/24/2008 6:43:13 PM PST by goodnesswins (Being Challenged Builds Character! Being Coddled Destroys Character!)
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To: DB
She didn’t do eBay any good.

Nah, she just took it from small time to a company with $7.6 billion in sales.

14 posted on 01/24/2008 6:49:17 PM PST by Non-Sequitur (Save Fredericksburg. Support CVBT.)
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To: BurbankKarl

Interesting, and interesting that she switched to vote for Romney. Perhaps we need more successful business people in politics, especially an E-Bay person, which is as close as your going to get in the business world to unfettered capitalism on a small scale.


15 posted on 01/24/2008 7:06:43 PM PST by PGalt
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To: goodnesswins
it’s a chance to GIVE SOMETHING BACK....some of us are compelled by that, as others have other compelling drives.....We need MORE conservatives with that compelling drive.

How very true. If only....

16 posted on 01/24/2008 7:07:53 PM PST by vox_freedom
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

I thought Hunter was planning a run???

When he auctioned Harry Reid’s letter, Rush indicated that Ebay execs were libs...


17 posted on 01/24/2008 7:11:55 PM PST by scrabblehack
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To: PGalt
which is as close as your going to get in the business world to unfettered capitalism on a small scale.

If unfettered capitalism were the object of conservatism, or this forum, the reply would be constructive. But it isn't ..

18 posted on 01/24/2008 7:31:10 PM PST by Amerigomag
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To: Non-Sequitur
She didn’t start eBay.

Yes it grew when she was there. Whether she is responsible for much of that growth is debatable.

These days sellers and buyers are fleeing eBay.

I'm a long time eBay user and she's mostly killed the dream that was once eBay by endless rules and fees that all run in eBay's/Paypal's favor, not the customers.

19 posted on 01/24/2008 7:43:13 PM PST by DB
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To: Non-Sequitur

Ya know, this might not be such a bad idea. She could just put California up for auction on Ebay and then we would be rid of it for good. As long as she did not put too high of a reserve on it.


20 posted on 01/24/2008 7:45:22 PM PST by biff
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