McCain Touts Former Ebay CEO As Company Makes Drastic Cuts

McCain touts the economic prowess of, and suggests as a future Treasury Secretary Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay and someone who he has turned to for economic advice in the past. Normally, this is a solid point for McCain to press, highlighting entrepreneurship and the growth of female business leaders. The problem: eBay just announced that it was firing 10 percent of its work force.

Comments

[rcrush]

Meg Whitman destroyed Ebay. Its damn near impossible to try and sell something now without getting ripped off. Seller protection is a joke.

[flippinheck]

My sister works for PayPal, and her company is laying off 1,000 employees. I guess her boss went in today, and found out he didn't have a job. Surely, the great plan of the company will be to get rid of middle management and then give the CEO a big bonus just in time for the holidays. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy doesn't it? Yeah, she's a GREAT pick, McCain.

[nowalnuts]

Another cringe inducing moment in the McCain campaign. That's all there is anymore. Do McCain's advisors hate him or are all of these people putting their heads together really just this dumb? Every penny of McCain's campaign is being spent on hate propaganda and lie spinners and not a single cent has been invested in any sort of common sense. They couldn't even spring for a flag pin, you betcha, cause they were busy making anti-obama cufflinks or some such crap. Total insanity.

[redsongia]

Ha ha, I noticed that and screamed at my TV. I read a "vast variety" of magazines and newspapers, so I was well informed :)

[kaku3]

Not only are they laying off 10% of the company, but they spent the money they are saving by more loss of jobs and buying a Danish Company. Is this the type of judgement we want in our President?

[Dawn Teo - Huffpost Blogger]

The real problem is that Meg Whitman has absolutely zero experience in the financial markets. Being head of the world's largest garage sale is impressive -- extraordinarily impressive, but it absolutely does not qualify her to be the head of the free world's financial markets.

[jorge4u]

Dawn.-

Great line about the largest garage sale. I started cracking up when I read it.

[TullyMars]

Home mortgages for sale - NWT. Shipping free.

[Laurie66]

So, could McCain run ebay?

[Grabit]

Carly doesn't think so.

[pjburns11]

Old man McCain is losing it.

Oh, the webs we weave...
http://thetruthburns.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/the-tragedy-of-maccain/

[Jonahinatickingwhale]

Ebay was successful on its own before Whitman showed up. The only reason she has any association with Ebay is that the founder Pierre Olmidyar needed help with the growth.

Whitman made many awful to disastrous decisions as Ebay CEO

She instituted plans for incredibly ill thought out changes then passed her CEO hat to a former Bain associate, John Donahoe. Using Whitman's playbook, Donahoe is destroying Ebay with changes that go beyond nonsensical to destructive. Sellers are fleeing Ebay. Many buyers are afraid to buy and many sellers are afraid to sell.

Ebay's stock hit a new low today, the day McCain suggested her as Treasury Secretary.

Can we please get some real intelligence, some real talent in Washington. We need it.

[white mende man]

McOutOfTouch strikes again.

[BobSF94117]

It's not a bad suggestion. She's gonna be looking for a job and, god knows, we're gonna be auctioning off a lot of stuff....

[warsaw]

Yeah, I was thinking about that too. Since we already sold the constitution, and the bill of rights is up for grabs, the last thing this country has to offer is the liberty bell and the declaration of independence.

I guess the real question is do we use the auction format or "buy it now"?

[Rog49Thomas]

Again the liberal press gets it wrong!

When Pan came into office the unemployment rate was 3.7%, now it is roughly 6%.

Honest John is planning on carrying forward Pan's imagined accomplishment by increasing that number even more..

So what would be more logical than to put into his cabinet Sister Meg.

With luck a McCrayz presidency might get the rate up to 8%.

That's maverick thinking.

[Msohio]

Shocked that McCain mentioned Ebay. Meg should have told him that she had cut so many jobs from her company that supposedly is doing so well.

[Kwaayesnama]

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 could 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?

[Leedox]

Didn't someone just sell a house on eBay? It sold for a whole $2.50. Gee that will go along way. How much is a cup of coffee these days?

[rowzeer]

McCain has no clue.....the same reason he had Carly Fiorino and Phil Gramm working on his campaign

[imfedup]

I only wish I had a video of my face when he said this. It would be a sure winner on America's Funniest Home Videos.