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California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman, the Former Head of eBay, Looks Like a Winner : Women Run Family Finances in the USA so Why Not Sacramento?

By Andis Kaulins

At the New York Times, the Reuters headline blares Meg Whitman Leads California Governor's Race: Poll.

What does it take to become governor of California? This is a case of (our) quick first impression....

Money helps ... as billionaire Meg Whitman, former head of eBay, reportedly donated another $20 million to her Gubernatorial campaign:

"... her ubiquitous radio and TV ad campaign led to her spending $27.2 million in the first 11 weeks of the year ? an average of $358,439 a day." [emphasis added]

But in this case the money also appears to be combined with a great deal of competence. If you can run eBay can you run a financially defunct California? Possibly. Debra Saunders of the San Francisco Chronicle writes at Real Clear Politics, Meg Whitman Can Run a Company, But Can She Govern?

Here is what the Wikipedia bio says about candidate Whitman:

"Whitman was born on Long Island, New York, the daughter of Hendricks Hallett Whitman and Margaret (Goodhue) Whitman. Whitman attended a public high school, Cold Spring Harbor High School in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. She had wanted to be a doctor so she studied physics and mathematics at Princeton University. However, after spending a summer selling advertisements in a magazine, she switched to studying economics, earning a BA with honors. She then obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1979. Whitman is married to Griffith Harsh IV, a neurosurgeon at Stanford University Medical Center....

Whitman has committed to only three major areas in her campaign: job creation, reduced state government spending, and reform of the state's K-12 educational system. She has explained that she believes it is best to start only a few things and finish them, instead of starting a lot of things and not finish them.

Whitman has pledged not to raise taxes.... She also proposes lowering business taxes and making California a more business-friendly environment, stating that California is losing jobs not to other countries but to neighboring states with lower tax rates....

For water issues, Whitman has opposed a federal judge ruling and supports turning on water for thousands of Central Valley farmers. She said if elected, on her first day she would suspend AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, to study potential economic implications. At the state GOP Convention in March, Whitman described California Republican Governor Schwarzenegger's climate change bill as a "job-killer." [emphasis added]

I am a political centrist who plays no favorites as far as the political parties are concerned, but this looks like a good option for the State of California, where it is time to "clean house".

Men can be good heads of government when economies are expanding and when money is plenty but to get a financially disordered house in order, a woman's prudence often beats the men hands down -- just look at your own household, where, for the most part, if you are typical, "Women exercise buying power over both personal and family finances."

As written at Ervin & Smith Advertising and Public Relations:

"[W]omen ... take care of 75% of family finances, control or influence 53% of family investment decisions, and handle 89% of checking accounts in the U.S."

California, save your State. Put a lady in charge. She will get you back into line. That's life.

Full post as published by LawPundit on April 06, 2010 (boomark / email).