She may be an oft over-looked contender for a Presidential run in 2016, but you couldn’t help but stand up and take notice of former Hewlett-Packard CEO, Carly Fiorina today.
In a speech to a fired-up base at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Fiorina took the fight directly to the presumptive Democrat nominee, Hillary Clinton.
Repeatedly interrupted by applause, Fiorina chided Clinton for her indifferent response to the terrorist attack in Benghazi, mocked her excessive travel schedule over the last couple of years, criticized her acceptance of foreign donations, and blasted her hashtag diplomacy on important topics.
She then directly challenged the former First Lady.
“Mrs. Clinton, name an accomplishment.”
Here is a portion of her speech:
This is not leadership. Nor is it leadership when Secretary Clinton asks: “What difference does it make?” when our embassy is deliberately attacked by terrorists and four Americans are murdered. It makes all the difference in the world and the required response has never come!
Like Mrs. Clinton, I too have traveled the globe. Unlike Mrs. Clinton, I know that flying is an activity, not an accomplishment. I have met Vladimir Putin and I know that his ambition will not be deterred by a gimmicky red reset button.
Mrs. Clinton, name an accomplishment. And in the meantime, please explain why we should accept that the millions and millions of dollars that have flowed into the Clinton Foundation from foreign governments don’t represent a conflict of interest.
She tweets about women’s rights in this country and takes money from governments that deny women the most basic human rights. She tweets about equal pay for women but won’t answer basic questions about her own offices’ pay standards—and neither will our President. Hillary likes hashtags. But she doesn’t know what leadership means.
Fiorina then declared something that you would never hear out of the Clinton or Obama camps: “Now is the time to declare without apology and without equivocation that this is the greatest nation the world has ever known and we are a force for good.”
The crowd responded with enthusiasm and applause to her remarks.
During a Q&A session after her speech, Fiorina also hinted that Clinton would not like to engage her in a debate.
“I will say this, if Hillary Clinton had to face me on a debate stage, at the very least she would have a hitch in her swing.”
What do you think of Fiorina’s comments? Is this an indication that she may run for President in 2016? Who would make a better first-ever woman President?
