CARLY?  – AT 11:41 A.M. ET:  One of the people who gets very little press in the presidential race is former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who's running for the Republican nomination.  She's the only woman on our side in the race.  She's given little chance of winning, but may make an attractive vice-presidential choice.  She also has plenty to say, and says it very well.  From National Journal: 

Hundreds of conservative and evangelical activists had been listening politely and applauding on cue as Carly Fiorina talked about God, and opportunity, and work ethic. For many of those attending the Iowa Freedom Summit, it was the first time they'd heard her speak. For some, it was the first time they'd heard of her at all.

Then, more than 10 minutes into the speech, she mentioned Hillary Clinton.

"Like Hillary Clinton, I too have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles around the globe," said Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett Packard. "But unlike her, I've actually accomplished something. You see, Mrs. Clinton, flying is not an accomplishment; it is an activity."

The audience roared and was suddenly engaged, hanging on her words as she criticized Clinton on one issue after another. And when she landed on Benghazi—"Unlike Hillary Clinton, I know what difference it makes that our American ambassador and three other brave Americans were killed in a deliberate terrorist attack"—the crowd surged to its feet with a standing ovation.

"That's the first time I've ever seen her in person, and, frankly, I was moved by the speech. That takes a lot," says Sam Clovis, a former conservative radio host and tea-party favorite in Iowa. "It was the perfect speech on the perfect topic at the perfect place at the perfect time given in the perfect manner."

Fiorina, the only Republican woman actively considering a run for the White House, is taking on Clinton more forcefully and directly than any other GOP contender.

And...

It's not that Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, or other candidates are stepping lightly. Just last month, Clinton's name rang through the Conservative Political Action Conference dozens of times, as Republicans quipped about foreign donations to Clinton's foundation, tacked her name onto criticism of President Obama's policies, or, as Marco Rubio did, called her a candidate of "yesterday."

But Fiorina's offensive is in a class of its own, and for one reason: She's a woman, so she can.

COMMENT:  An interesting candidate, and she's from the business world, and that's both a plus and a problem.  Carly is refreshing, not the usual warmed-over politician.  She speaks sense and she speaks from experience.  But the bottom line is that her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard was tumultuous.  She got poor grades from other executives and the business press, and was eventually forced out.  The very business experience she can point to is her Achilles Heel.   She also ran for the Senate in California, against Barbara Boxer, and lost. 

We'll follow her.  It's a tough climb, but she adds diversity and good ideas to the race.

March 15, 2015