Bored Billionaire Runs for California Governor

I’m disturbed by the thought of former eBay CEO Meg Whitman running for governor of California. Sure she has weird skeletons in her closet, like not bothering to vote for 28 years, her links to Goldman Sachs, and her six-figure settlement board room shoving match.  But what concerns me the most is the amount of money she’s spending.

Meg Whitman’s personal fortune is estimated to be at $1.2 billion.  To secure the Republican gubernatorial nomination, it is estimated that she spent over $81 million, and $71 million of that amount came out of her own personal fortune. She has pledged to spend as much as $150 million to win the race in November.  I want to know why?

Who the hell would spend $150 million of their own money to win a job that pays an annual salary of $212,179.  What’s in it for her?  I don’t see a rational ROI (return on investment).  I don’t want a governor who thinks that politics is some kind of popularity contest.  We’ve already gone down that road with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And I don’t buy that “CEOs know better” crap.  In 2000, they told us George W. Bush had an MBA and a corporate background.  And there were all kinds of “genius” CEOs running AIG, General Motors, and Bear Stearns into the ground. If Meg Whitman is this bad with her own money– just think how bad she’ll be with other people’s tax money.

I'll vote for Meg Griffin before I vote Meg Whitman!