McCain: I Would Make eBay's Meg Whitman Treasury Secretary
Brokaw: Senator, we have one minute for a discussion here. Obviously the powers of the treasury secretary have been greatly expanded. The most powerful officer in the cabinet now. Hank Paulson says he won't stay on. Who do you have in mind to appoint to that very important post?
Sen. McCain?
McCain: Not you, Tom.
Brokaw: No, with good reason.
McCain: 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.
A supporter of Sen. Obama's is Warren Buffett [chairman of Berkshire Hathaway]. He has already weighed in and helped stabilize some of the difficulties in the markets and with companies and corporations, institutions today.
I like Meg Whitman [former CEO of eBay and current McCain campaign adviser], she knows what it's like to be out there in the marketplace. She knows how to create jobs. Meg Whitman was CEO of a company that started with 12 people and is now 1.3 million people in America make their living off eBay. Maybe somebody here has done a little business with them.
Here's the transcript... (thanks to reader who forwarded)
Buy it now?
Better than Carly Fiorina, at least :)
He might as well appoint Jerry Yang to run the treasury too!
you will see how important this is -- now they got this paulson guy, a hedge fund manager(i mean GS) -- we will see what he will do.
Meg for Treasury ?
why not Sec of Defense ?
she is about equally qualified for both
Keep in mind, Whitman is still on eBay payroll through 2008 and on the board, so don't think she didn't have something to do with the layoff, because she is out with McCain are out campaigning to put Americans back to work!
Oh course Palin will rave how great eBay and Whitman is too. Palin first started cutting state spending by selling her predecessor's jet, "I put it on eBay." And it's true, she did! But eBay, under Whitman, couldn't handle the business. Palin's people listed the jet three times on the site, but no one would bid a minimum of $2.5 million. "The eBay thing didn't work out very well," a local paper wrote after the failures.
Whitman's "sins" are not even a rounding error to the disaster that Franklin Raines oversaw at Fannie Mae from 1999-2004. And why does Senator Obama continue to keep this guy as his senior financial advisor? And why doesn't anyone want to talk about this lack of judgement?
Will you report it?
Franklin Raines who oversaw at Fannie Mae from 1999-2004 is a criminal and should be treated as such.
I didn't know obama had an association with him
IS HE REALLY THAT IGNORANT OF THE FACTS?
Donahoe AND WHITMAN are entirely responsible for the "Disruptive Innovation" which has DESTROYED MULTITUDES of good, honest, hardworking ebayers and the PLAN IS TO KILL even MORE of their finances, businesses, reputatations and morale!!!
The ONLY difference between Whitman and Donahoe is that Whitman snuck out the back door in time for the blood to fall on Donahoe's hands. She worked with Donahoe at Bain's. She brought him to ebay, she groomed him to carry out the plan and she handed him the CEO position.
McCain has lost my vote! If he is NOT INTELLIGENT enough to ACTUALLY look and see what is being done to ebayers, before saying STUPID things about how great ebay is and how wonderful Whitman is, then he IS ABSOLUTELY NOT smart enough to run our country. ebay has shown NOTHING BUT CONTEMPT for it's users. EVERY time McCain praises ebay he GIVES OBAMA more votes.
Hey McCAIN, did you know their IS a GLOBAL BOYCOTT against ebay?
I saw the Romney 12 comment, and I hate to say it but they might as well start saving the cash for a run in 12... Ain't looking good.
-Buy Mexico.
-Get the CIA to perform a rendition on Carly Fiorina.
-Free flowers and Keds for everyone.
-Replace the dollar with the "Payple", a Chit Fund based exchange system.
-Outlaw money orders.
-Triple the Dept. of the Treasury's staff, and have them sit around thinking up how to redesign the dollar with crayons.
The question was really tricky...I mean none of the candidates want to name particular persons during a debate...anyhow I thought Buffett was an interesting pick but serioulsy it ain't gonna happen...Buffett is a genius a great man and all but I don't think he will take the job.
Thanks for the reflection.
TV1Turtle
Doesn't look like Obama put forward a name at all. It was a tricky question and one where no name probably trumps naming someone who supports your opponent and another name is Meg Whitman.
Maybe McCain is looking to cut a deal with eBay when he needs to sell 15+ homes on the site?
how low can low go.
how about pierce omdiyar for treasury secy. how about jerry yang. how about larry ellison.
seriously. mccain should lose by 20 points i guess for making such weird suggestions. he could have well been honest and told he has not considered anybody so far as he has occupied with paulson and the credit crisis making phone calls and trying to help out!!!!
Martha Stewart for FDA
Norm Abrams (this old house) for HUD
Elliot Spitzer for AG
and we'll get his wife to buy back BUD from InBev so we can have back our beer while we sink to third world status.
That's what Im talkin about.
More Republican trickle-down economics: corporations create jobs. Corporations good. Give money to corporations. Cut corporate taxes so people can have jobs...or else!
the man is desperate and has either lost his mind or his backbone, or both.
but how about "there's a lot of qualified americans"?!?!?!
um, no john, there's not.
i thought prior to last night he was just a bit deluded. now i think he's totally off the reservation.
I think this is genius! Maybe she could toss the contents of the Smithsonian and some "auction rate" securities on the site, in addition to all the shit that the TSA Pigs steal from airline passengers? It would be about enough money to fund ten minutes of the war in IraQ!
Meg Whitman wasn't qualified to run eBay, let alone Treasury.
The McCain Mafia
http://mccainsource.com/corruption?id=0006
She managed the company when it was just growing everywhere withouth any credits...they bought everything they could (including Skype, pretty useless) and when eBay started having problems she left to Mr Donahoe who just decided 1500 layoffs all around the world.
Italian/French/German/etc.. eBay offices are almost closed reduced to the max, people kicked out to save money after they spent everything they could in business dinners and travels, who is saying that she knows how to create jobs?
eBay was going well just by itself, the only good thing they could have done is NOTHING!!! They started hiring consultant, people who never ever sold anything at eBay! They started paying them Millions...that's it
Meg Whitman is no genius. All evidence is otherwise. Instead, she was just lucky: landed in the right place at the right time, and rode the wave.
EBay's basic franchise is so strong that it can overcome her mistakes, which are legion:
* Wildly overpaying for acquisitions.
* Acquisitions with bad strategic logic (Skype and even PP)
* Obsolete back end -- scaling problems.
* 10-year-old site design, no updates in sight.
* Punitive fees driving away customers.
In effect, she thinks like a bean counter, not an operating manager. The core business has not been improved in a decade. Instead, everything is about buying, selling and tuning cash flows. Those things are important, but operations are equally important, and strategy rules all.
Here are the facts:
1. Meg Whitman has "admittedly" worked for the last 3 years hand in hand with John Donohoe, the current CEO, mentored & hand picked him as her successor. Policy changes on Ebay & Paypal are not decided upon soley by one person & are not put into place the moment they are thought of. Meg was very much a part of the earlier radical changes & still is a part of the decision making for the continued insanity & greed here at Ebay.
2. Meg is NOT gone from Ebay, she is still on the board of directors who the CEO must still get approval, guidance & clearance from on his desired action & changes.
3. Ebay & Paypal have made biased decisions:
A. Refusing sellers the equal right to a voice in the feedback forums. Buyers, you can no longer receive negative or neutral Feedback from sellers. In addition, buyers are now given the greenlight to say anything they want "even lies & abusive" in the feedback with this nice little assurance from Ebay that nothing will happen to them:
"You should leave honest and accurate Feedback without the fear of receiving negative or neutral ratings"
B. Restricting the sellers rights of free commerce by setting limits on shipping costs (without taking into consideration the TRUE cost of shipping from the carriers), in an attempt to make sellers raise the cost of the actual item being sole, thereby increasing Ebay's profits as they make no final value fee's from shipping & handling fee's.
C. Engaging in FTC violations & playing as a "monopoly" since they are now forcing payments to run through their sister company Paypal(of which they also get a fee from) by refusing google checkout & checks & money orders.
D. Engaging in conflict of interest activities by having persons from Paypal run/advising on in the Ebay Marketplace department. Ebay claims Paypal is run seperate from Ebay & Paypal claims that they have no "enforcement" connection to Ebay...yet having someone work for both of these companies is a conflict & suspicious.
E. Ebay is now restricting selling privileges to those sellers who fall below 4.7% in and DSR rating catagory, catagories that Ebay themselves describe in the guidelines for buyers to grade sellers as:
5-Above or Very Good/Accurate/Reasonable
4-Good/Accurate/Reasonable
3-Neutral
2-Below/"Not Good/Accurate/Reasonable"
1-Very Below "Not Good/Accurate/Reasonable"
these are Ebay's guidelines, does it seem odd to anyone else that someone should not be able to sell on Ebay for doing an above average (neutral) job, for doing a Good Job ? Our kids are still allowed to graduate from school with a B, this is enough to get one on the schools honor rolls as performing above the C average, but it is enough to be cut off from Ebay ?
In addition, Buyers are given the nice comfort once again that they can be as privately nasty & untruthful & vengeful as they want with no recourse with this little message from Ebay:
**Remember – these detailed seller ratings are anonymous, so please feel free to leave honest ratings about your buying experience.
3. Raising selling & final value fee's SUBSTANTIALLY across the board, nearly 300% in the most common catagories. Why the difference in fee's in WHAT is sold instead of a percentage on the total AMOUNT..is there any difference in the cost to Ebay between a DVD listing & one for a designer purse or cosmetic ? Nope, just that some catagories traditionally have higher final sale prices, hence...higher FVF & profits for Ebay.
4. Ebay's stock has PLUMMETED in this past year, from being at approximately $43 per share to $15.91 as of 4pm today !!! That is lower than when Meg started at Ebay.
5. Ebay is getting ready to eliminate & lay off 1000 jobs/employee's..not a sign of a company that is growing in a positive direction.
6. Ebay sellers & buyers alike are jumping ship, big & small, those with years of selling & buying, new & used sellers..because of the horrible mismanagement & continuing downslide of the Ebay experience.
Why am I so intent on telling everyone how scared we need to be in this election based on Meg Whitman's involvement in this Ebay fiasco ? Because as we are bailing out this huge companies with our billions of dollars of tax money that should be going to Social Security, Medicaid, Healthcare & such...John McCain pegged Meg Whitman as one of his choices for Secretary of the Treasury should he be elected. Are we ready to have this person have that kind of influence on our civil liberties, have this kind of bias toward greedy unfair business practices & this kind of greed as to raise fee's (imagine it is your taxes) as much as Ebay's have gone up in a year?
Meg Whitman & her associates at Ebay & Paypal do not care about fairness or legalities or loyalties, they only care about the immediate padding of their own pockets. If Ebay goes under, are they going to ask the Feds to give them millions & billions as well to bail them out of their mismanagement ? What about the people they have forced out of business here on Ebay ? Will Meg & McCain run the government the way Bush has. with pure self interest & a blind eye to the rights & good of ALL AMERICANS regardless of their financial status ?
This is a fair & truthful concern !! With the McCain camp making such a big deal out of their opponents "connections" to imperfect individuals it is highly hypocritical that they praise a woman who is connected to such a company as Ebay & Paypal. And, falsely claim that she was at Ebay from the start. No mention of the millions of people who are no longer are able to sell, no mention of the employee's who are about to lose their jobs, no mention of the improper business practices going on, no mention of the INSANE fee increases & certainly no mention of the fact that her company (which she still has a controlling part in) is at an all time low on the markets.
Is this the person we want controlling & influencing the purse strings & the president of the United States ?
Meg needs to severe her ties with Ebay, admit that it is going seriously down the toilet or McCain need's to detract his endorsement of her & cut her lose from his campaign. If this does not happen, I will not be giving my vote to McCain..THAT'S A FACT ! The rest of us should be just as scared ! McCain doesn't know how many houses he owns (7 actually). That scares me that he is ignorant of that. How many houses do you own ? Probably 1 if any at all. And you ain't gonna be able to afford them by selling on Ebay any longer that's for sure. I am sure that both McCain & Meg have medical insurance, how many of you independent people have insurance, or how many could have been covered with the ADDITIONAL 50+ billion dollars that AIG was just given for their bailout (after spending 400,000 on a company junket/vacation/get
together. I am sure that if Ebay goes down, Meg will have her severance, but the stockholders will have nothing !!
Take a stand now...let Ebay, Meg & Washington know that we are NOT stupid. Let them know that we don't like politicians who cannot speak with clear facts & who praise those who deserve no praise. Tell them we won't vote or put into power anyone who wants to put persons with a CURRENT HORRIBLE business track record & favors greedy,biased, special interest business tactics in charge of one of the most powerful positions in Washington.
Speak out now...before November 4...change is needed, it starts with you, and it won't happen if we stand by quietly and LET things happen TO us !!
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?jdonohoe
McCain is a reckless, cynical, pitiful excuse of a man. He is not presidential material. Any man who calls his wife a C*#T -- in public, no less -- is disgraceful. No wonder Cindy plundered the narcotics stash!