Fiorina Sets off Flap, Saying Palin Not Ready for Big Business

NYT blog
By LESLIE WAYNE

Having once been dubbed the “most powerful woman in business,” Carly Fiorina, a top economic adviser to Senator John McCain and the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, knows a little something about executive talent.

After all, until she was ousted from the executive suite at Hewlett-Packard, Ms. Fiorina was a Silicon Valley legend, breaking glass ceilings wherever she went. But today, Ms. Fiorina veered off-message when she was asked to cast an eye over Sarah Palin and how she might fare in the corporate world.

On the McGraw Milhaven Show on KTRS radio in St. Louis, Ms. Fiorina was praised by Mr. Milhaven for having worked her way up from being a secretary to running the computer giant. He went on to say that in tapping Ms. Palin, Mr. McCain “thinks she has the experience to be president.” But, the line of questioning went on, what about running a company: “Do you think she has the experience to run a major company like Hewlett-Packard,” Ms. Fiorina was asked.

“No, I don’t,” Ms. Fiorina said.

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