Now that former Senator Rick Santorum has dived into the presidential pool, I thought I would check the status of a candidate who is already in — Carly Fiorina.
Early in her candidacy, Professor Jacobson noted she was “rocking it” by taking the fight to Hillary Clinton. She continues to show the rest of the field how to target the elusive Democratic candidate.
For example, Clinton has been less than responsive when it comes to addressing the American press.
In contrast, Fiorina held a press conference…directly outside a Clinton event.
First the former Hewlett Packard chief executive popped up outside the Marriott hotel where Clinton was just about to kick off a campaign event, offering to take questions from the press since Clinton so often won’t.Forty-five minutes later and six blocks down the road, there Fiorina was again, bragging to the South Carolina House Republican caucus about what she’d just done as they chewed on grilled chicken at a Hilton hotel luncheon.”I’ve answered probably 420-plus questions on the record about everything, from, ‘Is a hot dog a sandwich?’ — I flubbed that one, I will tell you — to what I would do about ISIS and everything in between,” Fiorina said. “And Hillary Clinton has answered maybe 15 questions.”Barely registering at the polls and less than three months away from the GOP’s first primary debate, Fiorina is making her one and only play: attacking the best-known presidential candidate of them all. And while it’s too soon to tell whether Fiorina’s tactics are paying off in the polls, Republican officials and activists in the early-primary states say what she’s doing is working.
She had a biting analysis of Clinton’s political record.
How can we trust Mrs. Clinton?” asked Fiorina, who in recent months has used her status as the only woman in the Republican field to attack the Democratic candidate.“We now know that her family foundation has had to refile five years’ worth of returns because it failed to disclose donations from foreign governments. We know that she only had one email in her server, that she put a server in her basement, that it was convenient not to rely on federal government emails. We know that Benghazi was a terrorist attack despite the fact that she told us it was a protest gone bad,” added Fiorina during the 11-minute news conference.
An NBC video captures the conference:
Conservative talk show host Tammy Bruce had a lengthy interview with Fiorina, in which she gave impressively dynamic and detailed-filled responses to Bruce’s policy questions. Addressing the matter of polls, Fiorina pointed out that it is too early for the numbers to have any significant meaning.
Given that the poll numbers will ultimately have bearing on who Fox News will permit in its Republican presidential debate, I was impressed that Fiorina indicated she will do what it takes to be on that stage in August.
Compare this reply to that of the GOP’s newest candidate.
The Fox News presidential debate qualification rules have former Senator Rick Santorum crying foul…..”I’m someone who believes that we should have an inclusive process,” Mr Santorum told reporters after his speech at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City. “If you’re a United States senator, if you’re a governor, if you’re a woman who ran a Fortune 500 company and you’re running a legitimate campaign for president, then you should have the right to be on stage with everyone else.”
I have vowed to keep an open mind during the candidate selection process. However, at this point, I hope Fiorina makes it to the first debate. She has the right campaign priorities, as far as I’m concerned.
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