So, what about her?

So, who is Carly Fiorina and why would anyone start a blog asking about her? Glad you asked.

I started this site out of a combination of outrage, frustration, and ultimately a desire to channel unproductive feelings into a productive form of communication.

While listening to Thom Hartmann's excellent morning broadcast here on L.A.'s KTLA 1150AM I heard Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders comment how our current fiscal crisis could end up being the "October surprise" we've come to expect from the Karl Rove machine each election cycle. The scenario he laid out should be frightening to anyone who desires change and a degree of sanity restored to the executive branch of our government.

The scenario is this: Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid cave in to pressure from the White House (wouldn't be the first time) and stand arm-in-arm with Bush (if only figuratively) as they announce the $700 million (or more) bailout of the corrupt financial institutions run by the fat cats who profited off the middle class' misery. In other words, the Democratic party signs off on a policy plan urged by the least respected president in U.S. history.

John McCain, the self-professed "maverick" (despite having voted with Bush more than 90% of the time the past eight years and having been one of the "Keating Five") can then stand apart from both the Republican proxy (Bush) and all the Democrats, as represented by the House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader. Of course, by default, Barack Obama would be lumped in with the dirty lot.

If the Repubs haven't proved themselves to be so adept at "gotcha" politics and had the Rovian strategy of telling lies often enough until the masses believe them, the hairs on the back of my neck wouldn't have stood on end. But this was the perfect ploy, just waiting to be played out. This may well be Halloween come early for Barack Obama.

So, after feeling my blood pressure rise a few millimeters I asked myself what I could do to help, or at least feel as though I'm not merely sitting back fuming, or at best calling a like minded friend with whom to vent. Hence, WhatAboutCarly.com.

For those not in the know, Carly Fiorina is John McCain's chief financial surrogate and was the CEO of Hewlett-Packard... until she was fired after presiding over a 50% drop in shareholders' value and the loss of twenty thousand jobs. So, after nearly sinking the boat and drowning half its passengers what did Ms. Fiorina get? A kick in the pants? A dagger up the step? No, she received a $42 million buyout. For real. No joke. Can anyone say "GOLDEN PARACHUTE?"

Now, in spite of all this – in spite of what should be called a platinum parachute and her being McCain's financial strategist, here's an excerpt from McCain from a speech he made yesterday in Scranton, PA:

"We cannot have taxpayers footing the bill for bloated golden parachutes like we see in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, where the top executives are asking for $2.5 billion in bonuses after they ran the company into the ground. The senior executives of any firm that is bailed out by treasury should not be making more than the highest paid government official."

Incredible, no? Yes! The, this past weekend, McCain defended her severance package from Hewlett Packard:

"I think she did a good job as CEO in many respects," McCain told "The Today Show's" Meredith Vieira when she pressed him on the matter.

"I know that she was a very successful businesswoman. Started out as a part-time secretary and made her way to the top of the corporate ladder as one of the biggest CEOs in the United States of America."

McCain admitted, however, that he was not familiar with the details of Fiorina's payout:

McCAIN: I don't think so. ... Because I think she did a good job as CEO in many respects. I don't know the details of her compensation package. But she's one of many advisers that I have.

VIERA: But she did get a $45 million dollar golden parachute after being fired while 20,000 of her employees were laid off.

McCAIN: I have many of the people, but I do not know the details of what happened.

After which he went back on the stump and once again tried to blame Barack Obama for the faltering economy.

So, the guy has one of the very people who is at the root of our current economic woes as his economic advisor, claims she did a good job (at getting 20,000 people laid off) and doesn't know the details of her firing before hiring her. And then, it was back on the stump for him, blaming Obama for our economic downturn yet again.

And now he's trying to sweep Carly Fiorina under the carpet, as if the economic adviser to the man who has admitted publicly more than 20 times that economics aren't his strong point.

And that's why I had to start this blog. It won't only be about Carly Fiorina, but it will most certainly work to expose lies and reveal truths as they pertain to this presidential campaign. As you guessed, I'm a strong Obama supporter, and have decided that I will do all that I can, this blog being one means, to help set records straight and get this country back on the straight and narrow in the process.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

-Shawn Perine
9/23/08