For months, and even before she declared her presidential candidacy, many have questioned whether former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is actually serious about running for president and not just locking down a vice presidential nomination. This speculation has been driving me nuts, especially since it's continued after she announced a run for the White House earlier this month.
But over the weekend anchor Katie Couric, infamous for her interview with Sarah Palin during the 2008 presidential cycle, brought up the notion again and asked Fiorina directly if she was really just running to be picked as vice president.
"Really many people believe that you don't have a great chance of securing the GOP nomination. You're polling around one percent so are you hoping that in fact you may be tapped as a vice presidential candidate?" Couric asked during an interview with Fiorina last week.
"Oh Katie, would you ask a male candidate that question?" Fiorina responded.
"Yes I would," Couric said.
No word on when Couric will be asking Hillary Clinton the same types of questions about her presidential campaign.
Would Fiorina be a great VP pick? Absolutely. If she doesn't win the GOP nomination could she be selected by another candidate for VP? Yes, but this is beside the point. Fiorina is running for president, not vice president. She didn't launch a presidential campaign to land in the number two position. She's competing for the most powerful position in the world and she's proven to be serious about it. She's answered 200 questions from the media since Monday about her presidential candidacy and has been traveling around the country meeting with voters to make her case for months. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has answered 8 questions since announcing her run more than a month ago.
Further, although Fiorina doesn't have huge name recognition, she's making gains in presidential polling.
Fiorina is running for president. The press should proceed accordingly.
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