Fred Barnes Smitten: Conservative Writer Lionizes eMeg
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.
Yea, and eMeg also reportedly stiffed “The Bakersfield Californian” political writer =- so she’s got the rock-ribbed truly conservative Kern County GOP to contend with — after they recall St Sen Roy Ashburn this Fall.
So Fred earned his chops on this onw during a slow news week – UT Gov Jon Huntsman (a) finishes a state legislative special session [starting May 20th} to clarify intents of some bills passed during last month’s part-time session; then (b) heads for Senate confirmation hearings as US Ambassador to China. Jon speaks Mandarin and has an adopted Chinese daughter found homeless – but no one knows if he can ride a bike as George H. W. Bush did an the US envoy to engage the local populace.
Ah, poor Fred. He has to say that Dick Cheney is a great national leader.
He was significantly better when he was at the New Republic.
This article is a normal, integral part of the CEO-turned-idiot-politician syndrome. You’ll find the same glowing profiles of executive prowess turned political savior in the cases of Ron Unz, Ed Zsau, Michael Huffington, Bill Simon, Arnold Scwarzenegger, and especially Al Checchi.
These articles about California politics are usually written by east coast pundits and they are notable for two reasons:
1. They fail to comprehend the utter failure of CEOs to run effective campaigns, or in the cases where they do win, to be effective Governors.
2. They completely dismiss the viability and credibility of existing down ballot statewide elected officials. Which, frankly, isn’t as much of a mistake when you’re talking about California Republicans. (Remember Bill Jones for Senate?)
Meg Whitless will undoubtedly sit on the can for an hour rereading the article and filling her head with visions of electoral glory and national prominence, but seriously, the way she has run her campaign to date is absolutely classic CEO-syndrome. Expensive consultants, empty platitudes, personal arrogance, and simplistic solutions to complex problems that sound like bumper stickers.
It is beyond comprehension how Whitman has gone about preparing to run for Governor of California:
–being essentially a groupie and hanging with Romney for President campaign.
–then switching to beign a groupie and hanging with McCain disaster.
–public relations offensive targetting national magazines and news/talk shows
–including renting a horse as cheap stunt to draw Reagan parallels for Fortune Mag cover–this is nearly 45 years after it worked for the authetic RR. Meg is merely a poser.
Whitman is so off key, and so out of touch with contemporary California, it is possible she will realize how horrible she has positioned herself that she may, in the end, not even run.
BILL – I agree that BARNES was a shrper, better scribe @ “The New Republic” [begun by Walter Lippmann!] – while Michale Kinsley was there. THEN Fred went on the golden chicken speaking circuit {e.g. North Clounty San Diego @ Rancho Santa Fe — forgot the hoi polloi). As for Kinsley OMG = Disaster followed disaster: “The SLate” in Pacific NorthWest, then a battle to find his way from Bunker Hill high-rise condo to “The LA Times” editorial desk or bull pen. Seems he needed two hands, a road map, GPS link — but no one would give him the bus route to a near-by Army Surplus or GI Joe outlet. Scribes @ ‘The Times’ indicated in his post mortem, that Michael could p**s off a writer with “Hello”! I KNOW SOME MORMONS LIKE THAT HERE IN UT! SO, whatchagonnado, eh? 😉
Remember the on-line bordello ‘craigslist’???
You can get any fetish with any number of people (or???) in hundreds of cities.
eMeg purchased a chunk of that sewage dump when she was CEO.
Shame.
Shame.
Shame.