Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Meg Whitman Is the Anti-Palin

She's known for her business smarts, not her personality

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 9, 2010 12:30 PM CST
Email

(Newser) – Meg Whitman is in some ways the political polar opposite of Sarah Palin, writes Sara Libby. As she fights for the GOP nomination in the California governor's race, Whitman is relying on her smarts and her no-nonsense business acumen. The self-described "frumpy" dresser is "no 40-something pinup," and she "even behaves more like an insular CEO than like a politician," Libby writes for Slate. "Unlike Palin, she seems mortified by her own celebrity."

One thing they have in common: Whitman also has family trouble, in her case two college-age sons with a knack for getting kicked out of school. And like other women in politics, she doesn't seem to get a lot of "sisterly support" from female voters. Given California's fiscal mess, however, "maybe being a woman won't matter." She is, after all, the person who turned eBay from a little-known site hawking Beanie Babies into a "multimillion-dollar juggernaut."

Meg Whitman in May 2009.
Meg Whitman in May 2009.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
Meg Whitman.
Meg Whitman.   (AP Phioto/Paul Sakuma)
Meg Whitman in a file photo from April 27, 2009.
Meg Whitman in a file photo from April 27, 2009.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
3%
54%
5%
15%
7%
17%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 48 comments
passinthru
Feb 12, 2010 7:28 AM CST
@ galileo: what do you expect? she has a picture of a cat for christs sake? does that seem familiar to you? ever wondered why the people with the pics of cats on their profiles always seem the most radical? first it was do-do, then whatha, now cher. while ive seen cher before whatha(dont remember the cat photo tho), and nowhere near comes close to the level of insanity of the fore mentioned, she surely is on the clueless side of things..thank god those other asses were banned.
youngblood
Feb 10, 2010 12:40 PM CST
Sarah Palin a beauty?!!! I don't see it. I see a dumb stupid asshole. A recent example, she laughs and demeans our President for using teleprompters and just one day later gets caught on national TV for writing notes on her hand! and is too stupid to conceal them and looks at her hand as if we don't know what she's doing while on national TV! Sarah Palin IS really dumb.
JGirl
Feb 10, 2010 8:07 AM CST
i'm partial to "object that crushes whatever is in its path " but the others are good too

 
California • eBay • CEO • Meg Whitman • governor • Sarah Palin • beanie babies • California economy • Republican primary

More Newser Stories

Ad Accuses Meg Whitman of Pushing Porn

Business Leaders Find Success as GOP Candidates

Whitman Skipped Voting Due to 'Family Demands'

Meg Whitman Tests Media's Celeb-CEO Myth

Tech Tycoons to Battle for California's Top Job
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne