John McCain Suggests eBay's Meg Whitman For Treasury Secretary
By Nicole Belle Wednesday Oct 08, 2008 10:30amWith Henry Paulson on record that he would not continue past the Bush term as Treasury Secretary, debate moderator Tom Brokaw asked who the candidates would choose as a Treasury Secretary. McCain's response:
You know that’s a tough question, and there’s a lot of qualified Americans. But I think the first criteria, Tom, would have to be somebody who immediately Americans identify with. Immediately say we can trust that individual. Supporter of Sen. Obama’s is Warren Buffet. He’s already weighed in and helped stabilize some of the difficulties in the markets and with companies and corporations, institutions today. I like Meg Whitman. She knows what it’s like to be out there in the marketplace. She knows how to create jobs. Whitman was CEO of a company that started with 12 people and now, 1.3 million people in America make their living off eBay. Maybe someone here has done business with them. But the point is, it’s going to have to be somebody who inspires trust and confidence.
Confidence? Hmmmmm....I guess McCain didn't read today's LA Times:
Online retailer EBay Inc., which is trying to reverse years of slowing growth in its auction business amid rising competition and a spreading financial crisis, said Monday that it would cut 10% of its global workforce even as it spends $1.3 billion to buy three Web businesses.
Even after announcing the largest reduction in its 13-year history, which EBay said would save $150 million in annual operating costs, the San Jose company saw its shares tumble by as much as 12% to their lowest level in more than five years. They recovered to close at $17.89, down 5.5%.
Investors are concerned that EBay's bread and butter, online auctions, is showing increasing vulnerability to slowing consumer spending, the slumping U.S. housing market and high fuel prices.[..]
Although EBay said the layoffs (of about 1,000 full time employees) were not a result of the economic downturn, Chief Executive John Donahoe acknowledged that the weakening economy and the strengthening dollar were affecting sales. Donahoe, who took the reins from Meg Whitman in March, has been trying to lead a corporate overhaul.
Yeah, that inspires confidence, doesn't it? But I'm curious, as the Obama debate record site shows, McCain has mentioned his good friend Phil Gramm several times as a likely Treasury Secretary. Wonder why he didn't bring him up last night?
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He's clueless.. in his speech just now.. he gaffed and referred to Americans as his "fellow prisoners"
LNS
http://theprogressivepost.blogspot.com/2008/1...
The silver lining in these daily faux pas, horrendous bastardization of the english language, and caricatures is the absolute wealth of material they are providing to stand up comics across this country.
At least they're good for something!!??!!
Jed says,
I have to agree. This is one of the weirdest gaffes yet.
Hey what about his other BFF ... Carly Fiorina? Oh wait, she's no good. Let's go with another tech sector looser, then.
Heh, at least we know it's not going to be Tom Broken. What a peculiar way to try to inject levity into the Town Hall, supposedly Gone InSane's forte format.
He keeps bringing up Ebay. It must be the only website he's familiar with...or is Meg Whitman a friend of Carly Fiorina's?
You KNOW it must have been killing McCain not being able to say..."my friend, Phil Gramm".
He wanted to say Phil Gramm so badly he could taste it. Everyone knows that Phil Gramm is totally toxic at this point and will be found, along with Alan Greenspan, at the bottom of this rotting heap of corruption on Wall Street......
I hope everyone knows that Phil Gramm is toxic. I hope everyone knows that Phil Gramm is head deep in deregulating banks etc and big big chums with the Enron Pirates. I hope everyone knows that McLame would appoint him as TS because he would and declare his maverickyness when all of America howls.
Pat Buchanan couldn't bring himself to say Phil Gramm yesterday but used Gordon Gekko as the republican crony example after listed two or three dem names. jerk!
Phil Gramm is John McCain's bestest buddy along with Charlie Loves Dictators Black!!!
Wake up America!
If he had mentioned Mittens, I have a feeling that name might have gone over better.
I thought he threw Carly and Graham under the bus. Maybe they don't have too much grease and tire tracks on them yet.
He has no clue about e-bay, "E-Bay" is just something he heard his advisors say it has something to do with the internets that young people are talking about.
You'd think Meg Whitman wrote the fracking code for eBay.
I've just heard while flicking stations that now it's the McCain "surrogates" who are "inciting to violence" using terrorist rhetoric. This cannot be tolerated at public rallies and is in direct conflict with The Patriot Act.
Trying to find out the name of the official who introduced them at the rally today in Pa. If anyone has it, please post it.
It's time for every citizen to bring attention to these "hate-filled comments" directed at the opponent and have them all prosecuted under the rules of the Patriot Act.
This is "inciting to violence" and their rallies are becoming more and more violent.
We must take appropriate action to have this behavior brought to a screeching halt. These rallies are becoming tinder boxes and someone will ultimately get hurt. This is precisely why the Patriot Act was created - to stop this kind of hate crime taking place in our public squares and arenas.
Press your representatives in Congress today to begin taking necessary steps to stop these two hate-mongers AND their surrogates with threats of imprisonment.
This was info was also in yesterday's (10/7) news......so McBottom of his class has no excuse, really.
and the small print tells us that his pappy, Admiral of the Navy, had to pay off his professors to even have him graduate at all.....
When the meds wear off, he'll recommend his old pal Uncle Ho.
Obviously, he was on a mood elevator last evening which had him pacing around the stage like a fish out of water....often totally inappropriately like a stiffened up Frankenstein. The audience realized that he never really looked any of them in the eye even the ex-military dude whose shoulder he touched. This man is a walking ghost....and his invasive melanoma Stage 3B is taking it's obvious toll....that and his age.
If the "townhall format" is his forte, I think we've witnessed the best of McCain last night and it's not making it at all. He looked moronic pacing around - even once while Barack was talking???? I've seen that in the halls of nursing homes across this country, sadly to say. They come out of their rooms and pace....and mosey up and down the halls all day. This was McCain last night.
Earth to McKeating: psstt.....the town hall format does nothing for you except make you look like a short, squatty old man with hands like Dr. Strangelove.
...the fact that if you were concerned about germs when you were younger, you'll be washing the skin off of your hands when you are 71. If you struggled to pay attention, you're going to be superdistractable when you are 71. If you were nasty when you were 18, 25, 50, you're gonna be hell to be around when you are 71.
When we get older, we are the same people we ever were only more so....
Didn't this ridiculous suggestion of Meg Whitman follow the obvious time-altering comment "not you, Tom"?? It was clear to everyone that McCain's brain was not firing on all cylinders and he didn't have a clue as to what to say so he used the joke to buy himself some time. Ding! Thanks for playing but "game over"!!
Evidently, Troglodyte McCain has just either realized that many of us have been using ebay for nearly a decade now OR Palin got so much mileage out of it with her base (despite it being a lie that it actually sold on Ebay).....
McCain/Palin: A noun, a verb, and "EBay"??
Actually, I take that back because between them and their total bastardization of syntax and the english language, I realize that the concept of a "noun" or "verb" is totally beyond their intelligence level or comprehension. Mea culpa!
What you and obama don't understand is that the way out of this financial crisis is to auction off the country on eBay!
I have an old banker pal who isn't busy at the moment. Charles Keating would make a great Treasury Secretary.
When I get my new pony, I’m going to name it eBay.
The way things are going now with the economy, when you get your pony you may have to name it dinner.
McCain should do himself a favor and stop trying to use jokes. Sure, in one of his stump speeches everyone laughs at them, but those people have a whole lot of other problems. In a place like last night's debate, trying to be jokey makes him look like just a strange old man who is clueless.
It'd help if he didn't have a laugh like the stereotype of the creepy old man who likes little boys ...
"... and how about that Sarah Palin? Hahhhh? Hahhhh? Hahhhh?"
That's it... I'm voting for "that one"
LNS
Maverick, if it's a boy pony.
Youbetcha, if it's a girl.
Or just Wildfire, if there's a hoot owl howling out my window for six nights in a row.
Ever take a look at this man's hands?? I think his longest finger is a little over an inch and a half long - yikes! What kind of hands does he have going on there?
His fingers come to a point which is exacerbated and emphasized by his pointed, long finger nails...ewwww...
The edema in his hands is probably coming from his health condition - I find his hands nearly impossible to look at any more.
I'd take "that one" any day of the week versus this washed up, cantankerous, dried up old prune of a man!
How about TrigTrackTodd...or KnockedUp.
Algebra, Bleachers, and Concessionstand.
'Competent' might have been nice to hear. Professional, Expert, Experienced.
McSame keeps starting his comments with "My Friends..." because HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY and wants to make some.
"My friends"?? "My friends"?? To whom is this dolt referring with the constant and overuse of the term? Surely not to well over half of the citizens of this country whose bank accounts he's pilfered?
Surely not to the citizems of this country whose pocketbooks he continues to raid with supporting the spending of $10 billion on an illegal war in Iraq?
Who are McCain's "friends" at this point? The media is turning against him since they want to keep their integrity and their jobs.....he's losing base support consistently as well...
So precisely whom is John McCain referring to each time he invokes the phrase: My friends???????
Frankly, when an individual has the need to repeat an inane phrase such as this, it's simply to buy mental time - mental time to prepare his next sentence or thought.
In McCain's case of an elder brain, there is little doubt that he's using this phrase to buy time so he doesn't look like a total fool when he's speaking.
It's a vacuous phrase which means nothing more than the "buying of time" to collect one's thoughts in McCain's case.....
Seems the same "syndrome" of unpopularity is hitting John McCain as it is the self-prognosticated fate of George Bush - that only Barnie and Laura will be there for him when all is said and done.
McCain appears to be heading for the same problem - with only Cindy and his lapdog, AIPAC Joe Lieberman, to support him.
The jury's out...the next kid's name will be "trick pony" to commemorate her meteoric rise to fame and devastating fall from grace - within the span of two months!
After November 4, Sarah Palin will be no more. She will fade into obscurity and old age just like Gerry Ferraro did. I suspect that she will be impeached by the citizens of Alaska when she does return. Once Troopergate is released on Friday, americans will be wishing she'd head "north to Alaska"....at least every Republican will!!
Warren Buffet?? Obama, WTF!!! That's all the country needs -- another iconic manifestation of an exhausted economic system that has no memory an dno ethics. How about an eminent and internationlly recognized academic who would bring some measure of disinterestedness and objectivity to a very important cabinet post? Sheeeeeesh!
I used to order used coffee-table, soft-core, porn from E-Bay, but had to stop.
They were arriving with their pages already stuck together.
)O(
eBay
Scary thought, but after 8 years of the Bush/Cheney Regime nothing would surprise me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcZSh1diQRQ
Biden was talking about McCain today and his ever so frequent votes in line with bush. Biden said someone said that you can't be a Maverick if you have always been a sidekick.
When he mentioned her name, I was so hoping that Obama would be able to comment on Ebay's latest news to show just how out of touch McCain is.
ot Nicole and other C&L bloggers. Lou Dobbs was especially an ass last night on the news. He was fueling the Obama/Ayers hysteria. He was really a creep. Someone should blast Lou Dobbs for this. He was just fueling the fear fire
For McCain the world is divided into his "friends" and "That one"
John McCain's most recent gaffe. Hot off his lips today. "Across this country, this is the agenda I have set before my fellow prisoners..."
Kos has the video.
I can see fumbling a construction like, "Our enemies never stop thinking of ways to harm our country, and neither do we," (Bush) because there's a pattern leading to it.
But how the hell do you get from 'fellow Americans' to 'fellow prisoners'?
Strongest evidence this boy ain't of sound mind and body.
Veto beer!
Free the Americans!
...watch Bible Spice's face, looking from side to thinking ("Oh dear! Did anyone hear THAT!?"
Priceless.
McCindy showed no sign of hearing anything at all. Can't blame her, (Speaking of meds, I bet she's upped hers in recent weeks too)
Palin clearly heard it. Like a mom hearing old Dad fart in church.
But Big John didn't notice at all. Ran all the way to his punchline and didn't get much of a response, except Palin's muttered approval.
Maybe he's right, though. The food gets worse all the time, you get nothing for breaking your stones all day, and visits to the infirmary are worse than taking a beating.
Someone wake up the hampster in the comment wheel. At the most recent post, the comment link is missing
What an idiot! In order to sell something on ebay, you have to own something. Poor people own little, and little do they own computers. Jesus, somebody give me a pencil to gouge out my ears and save me from this guys unintelligent ramblings.
But ... but ... that's how it works in Civilization IV! You build a marketplace, and it adds to the happiness rating of your populace ...
Actually, Meg was held up as a shining example of best practices management style in a business course I took. Ebay HQ has an open door policy and very little hierarchy. Based on what we read both in the text and online for that course I was actually surprised she is a McCain supporter. Dopey me.
Transparency and moving toward sustainability is something we're going to need if we're ever going to trust the Treasury again.
I think it's time McCain put his campaign on Ebay.
That would be priceless ...!!!!!!!!
(even just the bus)
Isn't there a law against stating who is going to be appointed unless you've already won the election?
Any lawyers out there with an answer?
As a matter of legality, any candidate could announce his or her entire cabinet as part of the election campaign. While the Constitution does say that such appointments require the "advice" of the Senate, for all practical purposes, the president picks his cabinet. In fact, any sort of law against simply naming names would probably violate the First Amendment.
However, as a matter of politics, there are a host of things to consider:
• What happens to the narrative if the suggested people become unavailable upon election?
• What happens to the narrative if the suggested people are not vetted carefully enough, and damning information on them surface during the campaign?
• What does tipping your hand in such a manner say to the Senate, which has to consent to any cabinet member's appointment? Will the Senate begin to conspire against you for political leverage?
And so on.
:)
Hasn't EBay revolutionized the sale and movement of stolen merchandise around the country and internationally as well?
Isn't Meg Whitman little else than history's most successful fence?
It's a wonder she's not already part of the Bush Administration.
Bush ... the Maverick
I still think Obama should be calling Bush a Maverick.
The word Maverick should literally be changed to mean GW Bush.
I think that strategy would be golden and I have no idea why they haven’t done that yet.
Karl Rove strategy #12 or something right? Attack your opponent on his strength?
Why not? In today’s political world you can change any word to a completely different meaning by repeating it over and over!
So they should have countless "attack ads" highlighting Bush ... the Maverick!
-Wouldn't even have to mention McCain at all!
I really like Crooks and Liars but this new format is not an easy read. Your other set up was one of the best in the blogosphere. anyone else having problems?
Kathleen, register your nick. It will be much better.
Oh...as far as no flow...I'm happy for you.
I agree.
The new format is a "net loss".
deebee...register...the look of the site is different once you register...the threads look more like the old threads.
She's perfect for the job--she'll help transform us from a free market economy to a flea market economy !
... was this Meg ever some kid of beauty queen or contestant?
Meg .... New
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 13:07 — ronhohn
... was this Meg ever some kid of beauty queen or contestant?
No...but she did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last nite.
Isn't it about time that someone pushed back on that claim that "1.3 million people in America make their living off eBay?"
Daniel Gross at Slate wrote an article about this last May. Seriously, it's another example of McCain being entirely out of touch with economic reality.
Maybe Meg will figure out a way to put T Bills and other government securities for sale on EBay. That ought to pump up their EPS. And who can trust those shit asses of Wall Street anyway?
can we please destroy the myth that the repugs are spreading that the cause of the economic crisis is first time low income homebuyers?
what were they, 5 percent of the total?
this is the big lie
blaming the mess on the lower middle class, the poor and the dems
it was 20 years ago when jack kemp put across the entire idea...not the dems
fine...the dems are responsible for the fact that they didnt yell and scream like the repugs did about oil
but this idea that bush, mccain and other repugs wanted more regulation is totally absurd
just as it is absurd that the minority controlled the majority
Man...about the whole McCain / Meg Whitman stuff
I was watching the debate and I almost kick the ceiling
'Meg whitman for treasury...."
aggghhhh
Dear Meg is HATED by ebayers!!. Specialy the sellers. Maybe the company looked good on paper and bla bla. But from the user side I can tell the woman is REALLY UNPOPULAR. Many, Many people seriously PLEASE OFF with her. At least for what I know off. I have been selling on ebay full time since 2001. Not that i am proud off :-). But I mean that I know much about it. And after listening to McCain, I almost concluded : well...I guess he just lost the election :-). At least he lost the vote of every ebay seller outta there!!
so...that is my 2.87 cents (had to adjust it for inflation :-)
If I'm not mistaken the fact that ebay was laying off people made the papers BEFORE the debate.
In other words McCain is behind the times....again.
it did indeed. Why Obama didn't attempt to correct McCain is mind-boggling.
I'm convinced the Democrats will do anything to lose.
When asked this evening by Katie Couric about the Meg Whitman remark Mc Cain said "she's a woman".. *sigh* and that he'd have dinner with her - ole Walnuts is desperate to surround himself with women .. and he also said he wouldn't mind having dinner with Michael Phelps! I hope Phelps is straight.
I think Pierre might have something to say about that:
http://twitter.com/pierre/statuses/950469824
My, my, my, John McCain wants to name former eBay CEO Meg Whitman as secretary of the treasury. This is the woman that feed the eBay seller’s to death and when eBay bottomed out she quit. John McCain also says eBay is the answer for poverty and recession. During his so-called Forgotten Places tour, John McCain offered the people of the economically devastated regions in Martin County, Kentucky and Youngstown, Ohio a path out of financial desperation: eBay. Today, for example, McCain said, 1.3 million people in the world make a living off eBay, most of those are in the United State of America. If that sounds like something McCain’s national campaign co-chair and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman might say, it’s because she did. In March, she told Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, We have about - around the world, about 1.3 million people make most, if not all, of their living selling on eBay. He forgot to tell them that they would have to purchase a computer, $1,000 +, purchase a digital camera, $100+, get a internet service provider $35 per month+. He also forgot to tell these very poor people what they might sell on eBay. I know what I’m talking about because I try to make a little bit of extra money selling on Ebay. Let me tell you when people are having a difficult time filling up their gas tank. Paying their mortgage and putting food on the table they are not buying on eBay. Also we eBay sellers do not have health insurance. Please ask Meg Whitman why she left Ebay when the bottom fell out?
[Please don't shout. Thank you. Site Monitor]
As a former eBay member, I don't like the idea of any current, or former employees or executives being leaders of governmental agencies. eBay's policies completely lack any caring of what eBay members want. The executives, and share holders are only concerned with growing their business, and profits. They don't get it at all that their business is based on the happiness of their members who buy, sell, and do both. Their restrictive and unbalanced policies are killing their business from the inside out, and are chasing away long time members away.
That sellers can not leave negative feedback for a problem buyer is major example of eBay's foolish policies. Another is pushing the PayPal service off on their members, and not allowing buyers to pay with money orders for items such as computers. Taking away the ability of buyers and sellers to make their own choices sends a clear message. They don't want us as members there. The employees, executives, and shareholders would be bringing this attitude with them into government. A lack of care how the people who they serve feel, and if their needs are being met. We already have had almost eight years of that.
When I heard this on the debate I thought it was pretty ironic. Considering the state of our economy, I can see The Pentagon on e-bay soon.
Large, spacious 5-sided, 5-floor, commercial space. Newly-renovated. Reinforced concrete, etc., etc., etc.
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