McCain Claims Surrogate Meg Whitman 'Founded' eBay; Actual Founder Is Obama Supporter Pierre Omidyar

John McCain continued his string of gaffes this morning by claiming that Meg Whitman, a national co-chair for his campaign and potential pick for Treasury Secretary, had "founded" eBay with five employees.

In fact, Whitman joined eBay as CEO in 1998, three years after it was founded by Pierre Omidyar, a Barack Obama supporter.

Omidyar endorsed Obama on his blog in May:

"Barack Obama is showing a mirror to America, and despite the bad stuff we see in our reflection, we see that we are fundamentally good and strong and proud, and we can overcome our challenges by working together, across all sorts of lines, be they partisan, racial, cultural, religious, or whatever.

That's something unique about Barack Obama's America -- our America -- and that's the America I want to live in. "

Whitman has been lauded for turning the then-30 employee eBay into a multi-billion dollar auction site during her ten years as CEO. She now sits on its board. Recently eBay took drastic measures to spur growth by firing ten percent of its workforce. Days later, McCain suggested Whitman as a potential pick for Treasury Secretary.

Comments

[Whinger]

No, he's got confused, it was her father Slim Whitman, he was a great country and western singer too!

[citizenfirst]

I don't understand all this crowing about E-Bay coming from the Republican party these days! E-bay is so yesterday, and already way past it's expiration date - just like the Republican party! Also, if the Republicans cared to check it out, E-bay is filled with people trying to sell their stuff to pay for gas and groceries!

[liberalsrheros]

lol

please check out my other items for sale www...........

[alleycat32]

What Meg really did was set Ebay up for a downward slide with Donahoe Someone should really check out Ebay soon as it is really circling the drain. She took her 45 million golden parachute and left. Check it out.

Stick a fork in Mc Cain he is done.

[therblig]

well, she did invent the "Sampler" didn't she?

[lvogt]

OK, I've been critical of HuffPo for exaggerating some of McCain's small gaffes but it's inexcusable to not know basic facts about supporters he's using to publicly promote his campaign. What a maroon.

[Obinna]

Uhmm.. maybe the term "founder of eBay" was used in as loose a sense as possible? Ya know, sort of the way anyone might cavalierly say that Al Gore "invented" the internet??

[CindyKay]

Or that PTA-Failin is Actually Qualified for the VP position.

[LiberTLover]

Al Gore never said he had invented the Internet. He did have a lot to do with it's formation and realized it's potential. His work , encouragement tand belief in the potential of many of the of the start ups led to him investing in hteose same companies which has now put his net worth at well over the $100 million mark. Turns out he was truthful in what he did say and laughed all the way to the bank, while everyone else got trickled down on by Georgie B.

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp

[Venom5809]

Republicans.
Facts and fact checking are not important.

[Crozier]

It does NOT matter to their base of low information voters either. Neither does every lie about the Obama record or proposals. The RNC chairman today wanted to talk about destroying Obama rather than why the $$$115 THOUSAND in luxury clothing from luxury department stores or $15,000. per week for two weeks at 30K for a makeup person for Palin and to cover the effects of melanoma cancer in his left cheek.

[RobinSeattle]

I'm sure Pierre is thrilled that Meg took credit for his work.

[KOisGod]

Just listed on Ebay

Once great country for sale, slightly used, bitter, pretty disfunctional, lots of low information scrubbers to deal with.

BUT

Has great potential, once current management is fired and competent people are put in charge.

Minimum bid - 5.6 trillion

[Yve72]

His rac.ism (or ig,norance) knows no bounds.

Pierre Omidyar is of Ir.anian descent. Give credit where credit is due.
Why do persons of a certain eth.nic persuasion refuse to acknowledge the accomplishments of non-Wh.ites...or try to claim them as their own.

Typical.

[newhouse1]

I think it's an act of omission versus comission. Research the origins of such notables as:
"The Real McCoy," blood transfusions and first successful heart surgery, crop rotation, first made in America clock, or first American explorer to set foot on the North Pole, or first Revolutionary War patriot death, among a slew of others. And that's just on the African-American side of the ledger, and doesn't include Native's, Asian, Latino, Italians, or Middle Eastern decendent-Americans whose evidence of contributions are the undergirding of daily American life. It's similar to how the MSM is covering this year's election, and trying desparately to make race a major negative factor.

Frank Rich column in Sunday NYT = must read...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/opinion/26rich.html).

The reality is race is a factor for a real but small subset of the population, while the rest of us are happy to live and let live, and give credit or blame where appropriate.

[ThoughtAboutIt]

You left out the born in France part of Pierre Omidyar's great American biography. He (and parents) moved to the US when he was 6 and grew up in a suburb of Washington, DC. That doesn't make an acceptable Republican story though does it?

[katocat]

The McCain campaign is nothing short of a train wreck... does anyone over there actually research this stuff?

[LiberTLover]

That would take time away from all their mudsling and they are running out of time....

[1differentdrummer]

Shoot, if you don't like history, make up something you do like.

[masha2008]

why hasnt whitman corrected mccain's claims? she fancies herself the founder of ebay? the mccain campaign is really morally bankrupt.

[indc]

McCain is one of the most ignorant and could care less about factual truth politician in memory... he rivals and maybe surpasses Bush....like Bush he only see the beginning, never the middle or the end... like with nuclear power, which I support as a partial and limited solution if it is done right, but McCain sees no risk and ignores or is ignorant of the storage problem.

The man is reckless, intellectually lazy and becoming increasingly incapable of learning... and the world he sort of knew existed in the middle of the last century...

[Samalabear]

He should get is facts right. Pierre founded eBay and most smell-business sellers feel that Meg Whitman destroyed eBay -- certainly destroyed the ability of smell businesses to thrive or survive there. It was all about the money with Meg -- the perfect McCain supporter.