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Meg Whitman's political leap
WHITMAN GETS CHANCE TO SHINE
By Mary Anne Ostrom
Mercury News - Meg Whitman, national co-chair for McCain 2008 and former CEO of eBay

When Meg Whitman takes the stage tonight at the Republican National Convention, it will mark a whirlwind journey from leading eBay to joining the inner circle of presidential politics.

She joined John McCain's campaign in spring and quickly became a key adviser to the GOP presidential candidate, who recently called her one of the three wisest people he knows. She found her name moving up lists of possible vice-presidential candidates. And she even made Jay Leno's monologue. The comedian deadpanned last week that Whitman would be a good vice-presidential pick: "You know, she's an expert at selling Americans really old stuff."

Her 10-minute speech during prime time tonight is her biggest opportunity yet to make the leap from chief executive to a political force — and if successful, it could boost her own possible run for office.

But in an interview Tuesday, Whitman said her task is sticking to tonight's convention theme, "Prosperity,'' as she lays out McCain's economic plan to cut government spending and lower taxes.

"I'll be speaking about what the first 100 days of a McCain administration will look like and his economic plan for middle-class Americans, who are struggling,'' she said. She also will describe McCain's plan to wean the nation off a dependency on foreign oil, a task that she described as "our generation's moon shot.''

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina also will speak tonight on the economy. Fiorina, too, is considering a possible run for elected office. While Fiorina has taken a higher-profile role wooing disaffected Hillary Clinton voters and defending McCain, Whitman has remained more in the background, fundraising and working on economic policy. Last year, she was a major fundraiser for then-Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

On Tuesday, Whitman would not describe her own political aspirations, but she has expressed interest in running for governor in 2010 and has hired the firm run by Steve Schmidt, former adviser to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who now runs the day-to-day operations of the McCain campaign.

Both Fiorina and Whitman were on a list of 20 possible candidates for vice president. Whitman on Tuesday would not say how seriously she was considered. "I have just kept this very close to the vest,'' she said, adding "it was a privilege to be considered.'' Some suggested it would have been hard for McCain to pick either Fiorina or Whitman, whose wealth is estimated by Forbes magazine to be $1.3 billion, because Americans would not identify with them.

In the wake of McCain's decision to choose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, political pundits have wondered aloud why McCain didn't go with an experienced female politician or at least a female business leader who could shore up his economic credentials.

While Fiorina on Tuesday went on the attack, accusing Barack Obama's campaign for what she described as a belittling of Palin's experience, Whitman would not discuss whether Palin is getting fair treatment.

"John McCain made the choice that's right for him,'' Whitman said Tuesday.

She added, "I feel strongly that I have confidence in John's decision and I think it will work itself out and I know he thought about it long and hard.''

She stresses that her job is to sell McCain's economic prescriptions. But her eBay persona is a great icebreaker. She's made speeches to several state delegations while in Minnesota and has been stopped by many eBay users.

"They recognize me, and come up and say 'I'm an eBay seller,' or tell me 'I bought my car on eBay,'"‰'' she laughed.

The mild-mannered Whitman was one of the unlikeliest Silicon Valley billionaires. She had to be convinced to move from Boston, where she marketed Teletubbies for Hasbro, to join a small start-up with a funny name, eBay, in 1998. But she built the company into a household name. But by the time she left in March, competition from Google and Amazon.com had left analysts wondering what is next for the company.

What's next for Whitman depends largely on how McCain fares. Both Fiorina and Whitman have been mentioned as possible Cabinet- level secretaries. But those who know Whitman believe she is more interested in running for governor.

Despite her success at eBay, the transition to politics can be rough, warned Ken Khachigian, a veteran California Republican strategist.

"Business people think, 'I survived the board of directors, I survived the tough deals.' But it's nothing like what they have to face when they run for statewide office It's not just a lot of scrutiny. It's just going to be tough,'' he said.