It takes veteran Beltway journalist and Fox News bloviator Fred Barnes only three sentences of his hot-on-the-web, 3,500-word profile of Meg Whitman in the conservative Weekly Standard to compare her to Ronald Reagan.
Then he gets really complimentary.
The Barnes cover piece, titled “eMeg: eBay Republican Meg Whitman bids to save California” (to his credit, he sorta credits Calbuzz for our coinage of our favorite nickname for Her Megness), not only portrays her as a strong front-runner for the GOP nomination, but also casts her as the vessel of all true Reagan virtues, from an unstinting belief in free markets to an easy way with people.
The piece concludes by launching a Meg-for-President boomlet:
“But let’s assume Whitman is elected. She’d be governor of the biggest state, a brainy, conservative, accomplished woman at the top of the Republican ladder with precisely the experience that Sarah Palin lacks. That she’s a social moderate may be worrisome to conservatives. She’s pro-choice on abortion but voted for Proposition 8 last year, which barred gay marriage. When Reagan was elected governor in 1966, the speculation about national office–president, vice president–erupted instantly. If Whitman is elected in 2010, it will erupt again.”
Hold on there Fred, she may have have three conversations with you, but she’s still gotta make it past her first Calbuzz interview! In the meantime, Calbuzzers, check it out.
